IGIN  AND 

H|)PMENT 

RYK.ROWE 


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PRIVATE  LIBRARY 

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ROBT.  A.  CUMMINS. 


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SOCIETY 
ITS  ORIGIN  AND  DEVELOPMENT 


SOCIETY 

ITS  ORIGIN  AND  DEVELOPMENT 


BY 
HENRY  KALLOCH  ROWE,  PH.D. 

ASSOCIATE    PROFESSOR    OF    HISTORY    AND    SOCIOLOGY    IN    NEWTON 
THEOLOGICAL    INSTITUTION 


CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

NEW   YORK  CHICAGO  BOSTON 


COPYMGHT,    1916,  BY 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


PREFACE 

IN  studying  biology  it  is  convenient  to  make  cross-sections 
of  laboratory  specimens  in  order  to  determine  structure, 
and  to  watch  plants  and  animals  grow  in  order  to  determine 
function.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  social 
life  should  not  be  studied  in  the  same  way.  To  take  a 
child  in  the  home  and  watch  it  grow  in  the  midst  of  the  life 
of  the  family,  the  community,  and  the  larger  world,  and  to 
cut  across  group  life  so  as  to  see  its  characteristics,  its 
interests,  and  its  organization,  is  to  study  sociology  in  the 
most  natural  way  and  to  obtain  the  necessary  data  for 
generalization.  To  attempt  to  study  sociological  princi- 
ples without  this  preliminary  investigation  is  to  confuse 
the  student  and  leave  him  in  a  sea  of  vague  abstractions. 

It  is  not  because  of  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  abstract 
that  the  emphasis  of  this  book  is  on  the  concrete.  It  is 
written  as  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  the  principles  of 
sociology,  and  it  may  well  be  used  as  a  prelude  to  the 
various  social  sciences.  It  is  natural  that  trained  sociolo- 
gists should  prefer  to  discuss  the  profound  problems  of 
their  science,  and  should  plunge  their  pupils  into  material 
for  study  where  they  are  soon  beyond  their  depth;  much  of 
current  life  seems  so  obvious  and  so  simple  that  it  is  easy 
to  forget  that  the  college  man  or  woman  has  never  looked 
upon  it  with  a  discriminating  eye  or  with  any  attempt  to 
understand  its  meaning.  If  this  is  true  of  the  college 
student,  it  is  unquestionably  true  of  the  men  and  women 
of  the  world.  The  writer  believes  that  there  is  need  of  a 
simple,  untechnical  treatment  of  human  society,  and  offers 
this  book  as  a  contribution  to  the  practical  side  of  social 
science.  He  writes  with  the  undergraduate  continually  in 
mind,  trying  to  see  through  his  eyes  and  to  think  with  his 
mind,  and  the  references  are  to  books  that  will  best  meet 


2049649 


iv  Preface 

his  needs  and  that  are  most  readily  accessible.  It  is 
expected  that  the  pupil  will  read  widely,  and  that  the  in- 
structor will  show  how  principles  and  laws  are  formulated 
from  the  multitude  of  observations  of  social  phenomena. 
The  last  section  of  the  book  sums  up  briefly  some  of  the 
scientific  conclusions  that  are  drawn  from  the  concrete 
data,  and  prepares  the  way  for  a  more  detailed  and  tech- 
nical study. 

If  sociology  is  to  have  its  rightful  place  in  the  world  it 
must  become  a  science  for  the  people.  It  must  not  be 
permitted  to  remain  the  possession  of  an  aristocracy  of 
intellect.  The  heart  of  thousands  of  social  workers  who 
are  trying  to  reform  society  and  cure  its  ills  is  throbbing 
with  sympathy  and  hope,  but  there  is  much  waste  of 
energy  and  misdirection  of  zeal  because  of  a  lack  of  under- 
standing of  the  social  life  that  they  try  to  cure.  They  and 
the  people  to  whom  they  minister  need  an  interpretation 
of  life  in  social  terms  that  they  can  understand.  Profes- 
sional persons  of  all  kinds  need  it.  A  world  that  is  on  the 
verge  of  despair  because  of  the  breakdown  of  harmonious 
human  relations  needs  it  to  reassure  itself  of  the  value  and 
the  possibility  of  normal  human  relations.  Doubtless  the 
presentation  of  the  subject  is  imperfect,  but  if  it  meets 
the  need  of  those  who  find  difficulty  in  using  more  technical 
discussions  and  opens  up  a  new  field  of  interest  to  many 
who  hitherto  have  not  known  the  difference  between 
sociology  and  socialism,  the  effort  at  interpretation  will 
have  been  worth  while. 

HENRY  K.  ROWE. 
NEWTON  CENTRE,  MASSACHUSETTS. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE— INTRODUCTORY 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    CHARACTERISTICS  OF  SOCIAL  LIFE i 

II.    UNORGANIZED  GROUP  LIFE 16 

PART  TWO— LIFE   IN  THE   FAMILY   GROUP 

III.  FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  FAMILY 24 

IV.  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  FAMILY 29 

V.    THE  MAKING  OF  THE  HOME 37 

VI.    CHILDREN  IN  THE  HOME 42 

VII.    WORK,  PLAY,  AND  EDUCATION 51 

VIII.    HOME  ECONOMICS <•     .     ,     .  60 

IX.    CHANGES  IN  THE  FAMILY 67 

X.    DIVORCE 74 

XI.    THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 81 

XII.     CHARACTERISTICS  AND  PRINCIPLES 88 

PART  THREE— SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  RURAL 
COMMUNITY 

XIII.  THE  COMMUNITY  AND  ITS  HISTORY      ....  91 

XIV.  THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE 99 

XV.    OCCUPATIONS 104 

XVI.    RECREATION 108 

XVII.     RURAL  INSTITUTIONS 115 

XVIII.    RURAL  EDUCATION 120 

XIX.    THE  NEW  RURAL  SCHOOL 127 

v 


VI 


Contents 


CHAFTT* 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 


RURAL  GOVERNMENT 

HEALTH  AND  BEAUTY 

MORALS  IN  THE  RURAL  COMMUNITY 

THE  RURAL  CHURCH 

A  NEW  TYPE  or  RURAL  INSTITUTION 


PAOI 

136 

144 


.      iS6 
162 


PART  FOUR— SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   THE   CITY 

XXV.    FROM  COUNTRY  TO  CITY 169 

XXVI.  THE  MANUFACTURING  ENTERPRISE  .     .     .     .  180 

XXVII.    THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM 186 

XXVIII.  EXCHANGE  AND  TRANSPORTATION     ....  201 

XXIX.    THE  PEOPLE  WHO  WORK 212 

XXX.    THE  IMMIGRANT 221 

XXXI.  How  THE  WORKING  PEOPLE  LIVE   ....  230 

XXXII.  THE  DIVERSIONS  or  THE  WORKING  PEOPLE    .  238 

XXXIII.  CRIME  AND  ITS  CURE 248 

XXXIV.  AGENCIES  OF  CONTROL 256 

XXXV.  DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  PEOPLE  WHO  WORK      .  263 

XXXVI.  CHARITY  AND  THE  SETTLEMENTS      .     .     .     .  271 

XXXVII.    EDUCATIONAL  AGENCIES 280 

XXXVIII.    THE  CHURCH 287 

XXXIX.    THE  CITY  IN  THE  MAKING 294 

PART   FIVE— SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  NATION 

XL.    THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 300 

XLI.  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  PEO- 
PLE AS  A  NATION 305 

XLII.    THE  STATE 313 

XLIII.    PROBLEMS  OF  THE  NATION 324 

XLIV.    INTERNATIONALISM 333 


Contents  vii 
PART  SIX— SOCIAL  ANALYSIS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XLV.     PHYSICAL  AND  PERSONAL  FACTORS  IN  THE  LIFE 

OF  SOCIETY 340 

XL VI.    SOCIAL  PSYCHIC  FACTORS 348 

XL  VII.     SOCIAL  THEORIES 357 

XL  VEIL    THE  SCIENCE  OF  SOCIOLOGY 364 

INDEX 373 


SOCIETY:  ITS  ORIGIN  AND 
DEVELOPMENT 

PART  I— INTRODUCTORY 

CHAPTER  I 
CHARACTERISTICS  OF  SOCIAL  LIFE 

i.  Man  and  His  Social  Relations. — A  study  of  soci- 
ety starts  with  the  obvious  fact  that  human  beings  live 
together.  The  hermit  is  abnormal.  However  far  back 
we  go  in  the  process  of  human  evolution  we  find  the  ex- 
istence of  social  relations,  and  sociability  seems  a  qual- 
ity ingrained  in  human  nature.  Every  individual  has 
his  own  personality  that  belongs  to  him  apart  from  every 
other  individual,  but  the  perpetuation  and  development 
of  that  personality  is  dependent  on  relations  with  other 
personalities  and  with  the  physical  environment  which 
limits  his  activity. 

As  an  individual  his  primary  interest  is  in  self,  but  he 
finds  by  experience  that  he  cannot  be  independent  of 
others.  His  impulses,  his  feelings,  and  his  ideas  are  due 
to  the  relations  that  he  has  with  that  which  is  outside 
of  himself.  He  may  exercise  choice,  but  it  is  within  the 
limits  set  by  these  outside  relations.  He  may  make  use 
of  what  they  can  do  for  him  or  he  may  antagonize  them, 
at  least  he  cannot  ignore  them.  Experience  determines 
how  the  individual  may  best  adapt  himself  to  his  environ- 
ment and  adapt  the  environment  to  his  own  needs,  and 
he  thus  establishes  certain  definite  relationships.  Any 
group  of  individuals  who  have  thus  consciously  estab- 
lished relationships  with  one  another  and  with  their  social 
environment  is  a  society.  The  relations  through  whose 
channels  the  interplay  of  social  forces  is  constantly  going 

1 


£  Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

on  make  up  the  social  organization.  The  readjustments 
of  these  relations  for  the  better  adaptation  of  one  indi- 
vidual to  another,  or  of  either  to  their  environment,  make 
up  the  process  of  social  development.  A  society  which 
remains  in  equilibrium  is  termed  static,  that  which  is 
changing  is  called  dynamic. 

2.  The    Field    and    the    Purpose    of    Sociology. — Life 
in   society  is   the  subject  matter  of  sociological   study. 
Sociology  is  concerned  with  the  origin  and  development 
of  that  life,  with  its  present  forms  and  activities,   and 
with  their  future  development.     It  finds  its  material  in 
the  every-day  experiences  of  men,  women,  and  children 
in  whatever  stage  of  progress  they  may  be;   but  for  prac- 
tical purposes  its  chief  interest  is  in  the  normal  life  of 
civilized  communities,   together  with   the  past    develop- 
ments and  future  prospects  of  that  life.     The  purpose  of 
sociological  study  is  to  discover  the  active  workings  and 
controlling  principles  of  life,  its  essential  meaning,   and 
its  ultimate  goal;    then  to  apply  the  principles,  laws,  and 
ideals  discovered  to  the  imperfect  social  process  that  is 
now  going  on  in  the  hope  of  social  betterment. 

3.  Source     Material    for     Study. — The     source     ma- 
terial of  social  life  lies  all  about  us.     For  its  past  history 
we  must  explore  the  primitive  conduct  of  human  beings 
as  we  learn  it  from  anthropology  and  archaeology,  or  as 
we  infer  it  from  the  lowest  human  races  or  from  animal 
groups  that  bear  the  nearest  physical  and  mental  resem- 
blance  to  mankind.     For  present   phenomena  we   have 
only  to  look  about  us,  and  having  seen  to  attempt  their 
interpretation.    Life  is  mirrored  in  the  daily  press.    Pick 
up  any  newspaper  and  examine  its  contents.     It  reveals 
social  characteristics  both  local  and  wide-spread. 

4.  Social  Characteristics — Activity. — The  first  fact  that 
stands  out  clearly  as  a  characteristic  of  social  life  is  ac- 
tivity.    Everybody  seems  to  be  doing  something.     There 
are  a  few  among  the  population,  like  vagrants  and  the 
idle  rich,  who  are  parasites,  but  even  they  sustain  rela- 
tions to  others  that  require  a  certain  sort  of  effort.    Activ- 
ity seems  fundamental.    It  needs  but  a  hasty  survey  to 


Characteristics  of  Social  Life  3 

show  how  general  it  is.  Farmers  are  cultivating  their 
broad  acres,  woodsmen  are  chopping  and  hewing  in  the 
forest,  miners  are  drilling  in  underground  chambers,  and  the 
products  of  farm,  forest,  and  mine  are  finding  their  way 
by  river,  road,  and  rail  to  the  great  distributing  centres. 
In  the  town  the  machinery  of  mill  and  factory  keeps  busy 
thousands  of  operatives,  and  turns  out  manufactured  prod- 
ucts to  compete  with  the  products  of  the  soil  for  right  of 
way  to  the  cities  of  the  New  World  and  the  Old.  Busiest 
of  all  are  the  throngs  that  thread  the  streets  of  the  great 
centres,  and  pour  in  and  out  of  stores  and  offices.  Men 
rush  from  one  person  to  another,  and  interview  one  after 
another  the  business  houses  with  which  they  maintain 
connection;  women  swarm  about  the  counters  of  the  de- 
partment stores  and  find  at  the  same  time  social  satisfac- 
tion and  pecuniary  reward;  children  in  hundreds  pour  into 
the  intellectual  hopper  of  the  schoolroom  and  from  there 
to  the  playground.  Everybody  is  busy,  and  everybody  is 
seeking  personal  profit  and  satisfaction. 

5.  Mental  Activity. — There  is  another  kind  of  activity 
of  which  these  economic  and  social  phases  are  only  the  out- 
ward expression,  an  activity  of  the  mind  which  is  busy 
continually  adjusting  the  needs  of  the  individual  or  social 
organism  and  the  environment  to  each  other.  Some  acts 
are  so  instinctive  or  habitual  that  they  do  not  require  con- 
scious mental  effort;  others  are  the  result  of  reasoning  as 
to  this  or  that  course  of  action.  The  impulse  of  the  farmer 
may  be  to  remain  inactive,  or  the  schoolboy  may  feel  like 
going  fishing;  the  call  of  nature  stimulates  the  desire;  but 
reason  reaches  out  and  takes  control  and  directs  outward 
activity  into  proper  channels.  On  the  other  hand,  reason 
fortifies  worthy  inclinations.  The  youth  feels  an  inclina- 
tion to  stretch  his  muscles  or  to  use  his  brains,  and  reason 
re-enforces  feeling.  The  physical  need  of  food,  clothing,  and 
shelter  acts  as  a  goad  to  drive  a  man  to  work,  and  reason 
sanctions  his  natural  response.  This  mental  activity  guides 
not  only  individual  human  conduct  but  also  that  of  the 
group.  Instinct  impels  the  man  to  defend  his  family  from 
hardship  or  his  clan  from  defeat,  and  reason  confirms  the 


4  Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

impulse.  His  sociable  disposition  urges  him  to  co-operate 
in  industry,  and  reason  sanctions  his  inclination.  The 
history  of  society  reveals  an  increasing  influence  of  the 
intellect  in  thus  directing  instinct  and  feeling.  It  is  a  law 
of  social  activity  that  it  tends  to  become  more  rational 
with  the  increase  of  education  and  experience.  But  it  is 
never  possible  to  determine  the  quantitative  influence  of 
the  various  factors  that  enter  into  a  decision,  or  to  estimate 
the  relative  pressure  of  the  forces  that  urge  to  activity. 
Alike  in  mental  and  in  physical  activity  there  is  a  union  of 
all  the  causative  factors.  In  an  act  of  the  will  impulse, 
feeling,  and  reflection  all  have  their  part;  in  physical 
activity  it  is  difficult  to  determine  how  compelling  is  any 
one  of  the  various  forces,  such  as  heredity  and  environment, 
that  enter  into  the  decision. 

6.  The  Valuation  of  Social  Activities. — The  importance 
to  society  of  all  these  activities  is  not  to  be  measured  by 
their  scope  or  by  their  vigor  or  volume,  but  by  the  efficiency 
with  which  they  perform  their  function,  and  the  value  of 
the  end  they  serve.  Domestic  activities,  such  as  the  care 
of  children,  may  be  restricted  to  the  home,  and  a  woman's 
career  may  seem  to  be  blighted  thereby,  but  no  more  im- 
portant work  can  be  accomplished  than  the  proper  training 
of  the  child.  Political  activity  may  be  national  in  scope, 
but  if  it  is  vitiated  by  corrupt  practices  its  value  is  greatly 
diminished.  Certain  activities  carry  with  them  no  impor- 
tant results,  because  they  have  no  definite  function,  but 
are  sporadic  and  temporary,  like  the  coming  together  of 
groups  in  the  city  streets,  mingling  in  momentary  excite- 
ment and  dissolving  as  quickly. 

The  true  valuation  of  activities  is  to  be  determined  by 
their  social  utility.  The  employment  of  working  men  in 
the  brewing  of  beer  or  the  manufacture  of  chewing-gum 
may  give  large  returns  to  an  individual  or  a  corporation, 
but  the  social  utility  of  such  activity  is  small.  Business 
enterprise  is  naturally  self-centred;  the  first  interest  of 
every  individual  or  group  is  self-preservation,  and  business 
must  pay  for  itself  and  produce  a  surplus  for  its  owner  or 
it  is  not  worth  continuing  from  the  economic  standpoint; 


Characteristics  of  Social  Life  5 

but  a  business  enterprise  has  no  right  selfishly  to  disregard 
the  interests  of  its  employees  and  of  the  public.  Its  social 
value  must  be  reckoned  as  small  or  great,  not  by  the 
amount  of  business  carried  on,  but  by  its  contribution  to 
human  welfare. 

Take  a  department  store  as  an  illustration.  It  may  be 
highly  profitable  to  its  owners,  giving  large  returns  on  the 
investment,  while  distributing  cheap  and  defective  goods 
and  paying  its  employees  less  than  a  decent  living  wage. 
Its  value  is  to  be  determined  as  small  because  its  social 
utility  is  of  little  worth.  When  the  value  of  activity  is 
estimated  on  this  basis,  it  will  be  seen  that  among  the 
noblest  activities  are  those  of  the  philanthropist  who  gives 
his  time  and  interest  without  stint  to  the  welfare  of  other 
folk;  of  the  minister  who  lends  himself  to  spiritual  ministry, 
and  the  physician  who  gives  up  his  own  comfort  and  some- 
times his  own  life  to  save  those  who  are  physically  ill;  of 
the  housewife  who  bears  and  rears  children  and  keeps  the 
home  as  her  willing  contribution  to  the  life  of  the  world; 
and  of  the  nurses,  companions,  and  teachers  who  are 
mothers,  sisters,  and  wives  to  those  who  need  their  help. 

7.  Results  of  Activity. — The  product  of  activity  is 
achievement.  The  workers  of  the  world  are  continually 
transforming  energy  into  material  products.  To  clear 
away  a  forest,  to  raise  a  thousand  bushels  of  grain,  to 
market  a  herd  of  cattle  or  a  car-load  of  shoes,  to  build  a 
sky-scraper  or  an  ocean  liner,  is  an  achievement.  But  it  is 
a  greater  achievement  to  take  a  child  mind  and  educate  it 
until  it  learns  how  to  cultivate  the  soil  profitably,  how  to 
make  a  machine  or  a  building  of  practical  value,  and  how 
to  save  and  enrich  life. 

The  history  of  human  folk  shows  that  achievement  has 
been  gradual,  and  much  of  it  without  conscious  planning, 
but  the  great  inventors,  the  great  architects,  the  great 
statesmen  have  been  men  of  vision,  and  definite  purpose 
is  sure  to  fill  a  larger  place  in  the  story  of  achievement. 
Purposive  progress  rather  than  unconscious,  telic  rather 
than  genetic,  is  the  order  of  the  evolution  of  society. 

The  highest  achievement  of  the  race  is  its  moral  uplift. 


6  Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

The  man  or  woman  who  has  a  noble  or  kindly  thought, 
who  has  consecrated  life  to  unselfish  ends  and  has  spent 
constructive  effort  for  the  common  good,  is  the  true  prince 
among  men.  He  may  be  a  leader  upon  whom  the  common 
people  rely  in  time  of  stress,  or  only  a  private  in  the  ranks 
— he  is  a  hero,  for  his  achievement  is  spiritual,  and  his 
mastery  of  the  inner  life  is  his  supreme  victory. 

8.  Association. — A  second  characteristic  of  social  life  is 
that  activity  is  not  the  activity  of  isolated  individuals, 
but  it  is  activity  in  association.  Human  beings  work  to- 
gether, play  together,  talk  together,  worship  together,  fight 
together.  If  they  happen  to  act  alone,  they  are  still  closely 
related  to  one  another.  Examine  the  daily  newspaper 
record  and  see  how  few  items  have  to  do  with  individuals 
acting  in  isolation.  Even  if  a  person  sits  down  alone  to 
think,  his  mind  is  working  along  the  line  on  which  it  re- 
ceived the  push  of  another  mind  shortly  before.  A  large 
part  of  the  work  of  the  world  is  done  in  concert.  The  ship 
and  the  train  have  their  crew,  the  factory  its  hands,  the  city 
police  and  fire  departments  their  force.  Men  shout  together 
on  the  ball  field,  and  sing  folk-songs  in  chorus.  As  an  audi- 
ence they  listen  to  the  play  or  the  sermon,  as  a  mob  they 
rush  the  jail  to  lynch  a  prisoner,  or  as  a  crowd  they  riot  in 
high  carnival  on  Mardi  Gras.  The  normal  individual  be- 
longs to  a  family,  a  community,  a  political  party,  a  nation; 
he  may  belong,  besides,  to  a  church,  a  few  learned  societies, 
a  trade-union,  or  any  number  of  clubs  or  fraternities. 

Human  beings  associate  because  they  possess  common 
interests  and  means  of  intercourse.  They  are  affected  by 
the  same  needs.  They  have  the  power  to  think  in  the 
same  grooves  and  to  feel  a  common  sympathy.  Members 
of  the  same  race  or  community  have  a  common  fund  of 
custom  or  tradition;  they  are  conscious  of  like-mindedness 
in  morals  and  religion;  they  are  subject  to  the  same  kind 
of  mental  suggestion;  they  have  their  own  peculiar  language 
and  literature.  As  communication  between  different  parts 
of  the  world  improves  and  ability  to  speak  in  different  lan- 
guages increases,  there  comes  a  better  understanding  among 
the  world's  peoples  and  an  increase  of  mutual  sympathy. 


Characteristics  of  Social  Life  7 

Experience  has  taught  the  value  of  association.  By  it 
the  individual  makes  friends,  gains  in  knowledge,  enlarges 
interests.  Knowing  this,  he  seeks  acquaintances,  friends, 
and  companions.  He  finds  the  world  richer  because  of 
family,  community,  and  national  life,  and  if  necessary  he 
is  willing  to  sacrifice  something  of  his  own  comfort  and 
peace  for  the  advantages  that  these  associations  will 
bring. 

9.  Causes  of  Association. — It  is  the  nature  of  human 
beings  to  enjoy  company,  to  be  curious  about  what  they 
see  and  hear,  to  talk  together,  and  to  imitate  one  another. 
These  traits  appear  in  savages  and  even  in  animals,  and 
they  are  not  outgrown  with  advance  in  civilization.  These 
inborn  instincts  are  modified  or  re-enforced  by  the  con- 
scious workings  of  the  mind,  and  are  aided  or  restricted 
by  external  circumstances.  It  is  a  natural  instinct  for  men 
to  seek  associates.  They  feel  a  liking  for  one  and  a  dislike 
for  another,  and  select  their  friends  accordingly.  But  the 
choice  of  most  men  is  within  a  restricted  field,  for  their 
acquaintance  is  narrow.  College  men  are  thrown  with  a 
certain  set  or  join  a  certain  fraternity.  They  play  on  the 
same  team  or  belong  to  the  same  class.  They  may  have 
chosen  their  college,  but  within  that  institution  their 
environment  is  limited.  It  is  similar  in  the  world  at  large. 
Individuals  do  not  choose  the  environment  in  which  at 
first  they  find  themselves,  and  the  majority  cannot  readily 
change  their  environment.  Within  its  natural  limits  and 
the  barriers  which  caste  or  custom  have  fixed,  children  form 
their  play  groups  according  to  their  liking  for  each  other, 
and  adults  organize  their  societies  according  to  their  mutual 
interests  or  common  beliefs.  With  increasing  acquaintance 
and  ease  of  communication  and  transportation  there  comes 
a  wider  range  of  choice,  and  environment  is  less  controlling. 
The  will  of  the  individual  becomes  freer  to  choose  friends 
and  associates  wherever  he  finds  them.  He  may  have 
widely  scattered  business  and  political  connections.  He 
may  be  a  member  of  an  international  association.  He  may 
even  take  a  wife  from  another  city  or  a  distant  nation. 
Mental  interaction  flows  in  international  channels. 


8  Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

10.  Forms  of  Association. — It  is  possible  to  classify  all 
forms  of  association  in  two  groups  as  natural,  like  a  gang 
of  boys,  or  artificial,  like  a  political  party.     Or  it  is  possible 
to  arrange  them  according  to  the  interests  they  serve,  as 
economic,  scientific,  and  the  like.     Again  they  may  be 
classified  according  to  thoroughness  of  organization,  rang- 
ing from  the  crowd  to  the  closely  knit  corporation.     But 
whatever  the  form  may  be,  the  value  of  the  association  is 
to  be  judged  according  to  the  degree  of  social  worth,  as  in 
the  case  of  activities.     On  that  basis  a  company  of  gladi- 
ators or  a  pugilist's  club  ranks  below  a  village  improvement 
society;  that  in  turn  yields  in  importance  to  a  learned 
association   of  physicians  discussing   the  best  means  of 
relieving  human  suffering.     In  the  slow  process  of  social 
evolution  those  forms  that  do  not  contribute  to  the  welfare 
of  the  race  will  lose  their  place  in  society. 

11.  Results  of  Association. — The  results  of  association 
are  among  the  permanent  assets  of  the  race.     Man  has 
become  what  he  is  because  of  his  social  relations,  and 
further  progress  is  dependent  upon  them.     The  arts  that 
distinguish  man  from  his  inferiors  are  the  products  of  inter- 
communication and  co-operation.    The  art  of  conversation 
and  the  accompanying  interchange  of  ideas  and  thought 
stimulus  are  to  be  numbered  among  the  benefits.    The 
art  of  conciliation   that  calms  ruffled  tempers  and  sof- 
tens conflict  belongs  here.      The  art  of  co-operation,  that 
great  engine  of  achievement,  depends  on  learning  through 
social   contact   how   to   think   and   feel   sympathetically. 
Finally,  there  is  the  product  of  social  organization.     Chance 
meetings  and  temporary  assemblies  are  of  small  value, 
though  they  must  be  noted  as  phenomena  of  association. 
More  important  are  the  fixed  institutions  that  have  grown 
out  of  relations  continually  tested  by  experience  until  they 
have  become  sanctioned  by  society  as  indispensable.    Such 
are  the  organized  forms  of  business,  education,  govern- 
ment, and  religion.     But  all  groups  require  organization 
of  a  sort.     The  gang  has  its  recognized  leader,  the  club  its 
officers  and   by-laws.      Even   such    antisocial  persons  as 
outlaws  frequently  move  in  bands  and  have  their  chiefs. 


Characteristics  of  Social  Life  9 

Organization  goes  far  to  determine  success  in  war  or  poli- 
tics, in  work  or  play.  Like  achievement,  organization  is 
the  result  of  a  gradual  growth  in  collective  experience,  and 
must  be  continually  adapted  to  the  changing  requirements 
of  successive  periods  by  the  wisdom  of  master  minds.  It 
must  also  gradually  include  larger  groups  within  its  scope 
until,  like  the  International  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation or  the  Universal  Postal  Union,  it  reaches  out  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth. 

12.  Control. — The  public  mirror  of  the  press  reveals  a 
third  characteristic  of  social  life.  Activity  and  association 
are  both  under  control.  Activity  would  result  hi  exploita- 
tion of  the  weak  by  the  strong,  and  finally  in  anarchy,  if 
there  were  no  exercise  of  control.  Under  control  activities 
are  co-ordinated,  individuals  and  classes  are  brought  to 
work  in  co-operation  and  not  in  antagonism,  and  under  an 
enlightened  and  sanctioned  authority  life  becomes  richer, 
fuller,  and  more  truly  free. 

Social  control  begins  in  the  individual  mind.  Instincts 
and  feelings  are  held  in  the  leash  of  rational  thought.  In- 
telligence is  the  guide  to  action.  Control  is  exerted  exter- 
nally upon  the  individual  from  early  childhood.  Parental 
authority  checks  the  independence  of  the  child  and  com- 
pels conformity  to  the  will  of  his  elders.  Family  tradition 
makes  its  power  felt  in  many  homes,  and  family  pride  is  a 
compelling  reason  for  moral  rectitude.  Every  member  of 
the  family  is  restrained  by  the  rights  of  the  others,  and 
often  yields  his  own  preferences  for  the  common  good. 
When  the  child  goes  out  from  the  home  he  is  still  under 
restraint,  and  rigid  regulations  become  even  more  pro- 
nounced. The  rules  of  the  schoolroom  permit  little  free- 
dom. The  teacher's  authority  is  absolute  during  the  hours 
when  school  is  in  session.  In  the  city  when  school  hours 
are  over  there  are  municipal  regulations  enforced  by  watch- 
ful police  that  restrict  the  activity  of  a  boy  in  the  streets, 
and  if  he  visits  the  playground  he  is  still  under  the  reign  of 
law.  Similarly  the  adult  is  hedged  about  by  social  con- 
trol. Custom  decrees  that  he  must  dress  appropriately  for 
the  street,  that  he  must  pass  to  the  right  when  he  meets 


10         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

another  person,  and  that  he  must  raise  his  hat  to  an  ac- 
quaintance of  the  opposite  sex.  The  college  youth  finds  it 
necessary  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  customs  and  tradi- 
tions that  have  been  handed  down  from  class  to  class,  and 
these  must  be  observed  under  pain  of  ostracism.  Faculty 
and  trustees  stand  in  the  way  of  his  unlimited  enjoyment. 
His  moral  standards  are  affected  by  the  atmosphere  of  the 
chapter  house,  the  athletic  field,  and  the  examination  hall. 
In  business  and  civil  relations  men  find  themselves  com- 
pelled to  recognize  laws  that  have  been  formulated  for  the 
public  good.  State  and  national  governments  have  been 
able  to  assert  successfully  their  right  to  control  corporate 
action,  however  large  and  powerful  the  corporation  might 
be.  But  government  itself  is  subject  to  the  will  of  the 
people  in  a  democratic  nation,  and  public  opinion  sways 
officials  and  determines  local  and  national  policies.  Re- 
ligious beliefs  have  the  force  of  law  upon  whole  peoples  like 
the  Mohammedans. 

Social  control  is  exercised  in  large  measure  without  the 
mailed  fist.  Moral  suasion  tends  to  supersede  the  birch 
stick  and  the  policeman's  billy.  Within  limits  there  is 
freedom  of  action,  and  the  tacit  appeal  of  society  is  to  a 
man's  self-control.  But  the  newspaper  with  its  sensation 
and  police-court  gossip  never  lets  us  forget  that  back  of 
self-control  is  the  court  of  judicial  authority  and  the  bar 
of  public  opinion. 

The  result  of  the  constant  exercise  of  control  is  the  exis- 
tence of  order.  The  normal  individual  becomes  accustomed 
to  restraint  from  his  earliest  years,  and  it  is  only  the  few 
who  are  disorderly  in  the  schoolroom,  on  the  streets,  or  in 
the  broader  relations  of  life.  Criminals  make  up  a  small 
part  of  the  population;  anarchy  never  has  appealed  to 
many  as  a  social  philosophy;  unconventional  people  are 
rare  enough  to  attract  special  attention. 

13.  Change. — A  fourth  characteristic  of  social  life  is 
change.  Control  tends  to  keep  society  static,  but  there 
are  powerful  dynamic  forces  that  are  continually  upsetting 
the  equilibrium.  In  spite  of  the  natural  conservatism  of 
institutions  and  agencies  of  control,  group  life  is  as  con- 


Characteristics  of  Social  Life  11 

tinually  changing  as  the  physical  elements  in  nature.  Con- 
tinued observation  recorded  over  a  considerable  period  of 
time  reveals  changing  habits,  changing  occupations,  chang- 
ing interests,  even  changing  laws  and  governments.  In- 
side the  group  individuals  are  continually  readjusting  their 
modes  of  thought  and  activity  to  one  another,  and  between 
groups  there  is  a  similar  adjustment  of  social  habits.  With- 
out such  change  there  can  be  no  progress.  War  or  other 
catastrophe  suddenly  alters  wide  human  relations.  Ex- 
ternal influences  are  constantly  making  their  impression 
upon  us,  stimulating  us  to  higher  attainment  or  dragging 
us  down  to  individual  and  group  degeneration. 

14.  Causes  of  Change. — The  factors  that  enter  into 
social  life  to  produce  change  are  numerous.  Conflict  of 
ideas  among  individuals  and  groups  compels  frequent  read- 
justment of  thought.  The  free  expression  of  opinion  in 
public  debate  and  through  the  press  is  a  powerful  factor. 
Travel  alters  modes  of  conduct,  and  wholesale  migration 
changes  the  characteristics  of  large  groups  of  population. 
Family  habits  change  with  accumulation  of  wealth  or 
removal  from  the  farm  to  the  city.  The  introduction  of 
the  telephone  and  the  free  mail  delivery  with  its  magazines 
and  daily  newspapers  has  altered  currents  of  thought  in  the 
country.  Summer  visitors  have  introduced  country  and 
city  to  each  other;  the  automobile  has  enlarged  the  horizon 
of  thousands.  New  modes  of  agriculture  have  been  adopted 
through  the  influence  of  a  state  agricultural  college,  new 
methods  of  education  through  a  normal  school,  new  meth- 
ods of  church  work  through  a  theological  seminary.  Whole 
peoples,  as  in  China  and  Turkey,  have  been  profoundly 
affected  by  forces  that  compelled  change.  Growth  in 
population  beyond  comfortable  means  of  subsistence  has 
set  tribes  in  motion;  the  need  of  wider  markets  has  com- 
pelled nations  to  try  forcible  expansion  into  disputed 
areas.  The  desire  for  larger  opportunities  has  sent  millions 
of  emigrants  from  Europe  to  America,  and  has  been  chang- 
ing rapidly  the  complexion  of  the  crowds  that  walk  the 
city  streets  and  enter  the  polling  booths.  Certain  out- 
standing personalities  have  moulded  life  and  thought 


12         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

through  the  centuries,  and  have  profoundly  changed  whole 
regions  of  country.  Mohammed  and  Confucius  put  their 
personal  stamp  upon  the  Orient;  Caesar  and  Napoleon  made 
and  remade  western  Europe;  Adam  Smith  and  Darwin 
swayed  economic  and  scientific  England;  Washington  and 
Lincoln  were  makers  of  America. 

Through  such  social  processes  as  these — through  uncon- 
scious suggestion,  through  communication  and  discussion 
that  mould  public  opinion,  through  changes  in  environment 
and  the  influence  of  new  leaders  of  thought  and  action — 
the  evolution  of  folk  life  has  carried  whole  races,  sometimes 
to  oblivion,  but  generally  out  of  savagery  and  barbarism 
into  a  material  and  cultural  civilization. 

15.  Results  of  the  Process. — The  results  of  the  process 
of  social  change  are  so  far-reaching  as  to  be  almost  incal- 
culable. Particularly  marked  are  the  changes  of  the  last 
hundred  years.  The  best  way  to  appreciate  them  is  by  a 
comparison  of  periods.  Take  college  life  in  America  as 
an  example.  Scores  of  colleges  now  large  and  prosperous 
were  not  then  in  existence,  and  even  in  the  older  colleges 
conditions  were  far  inferior  to  what  they  are  in  the  newer 
and  smaller  colleges  to-day.  There  were  few  preparatory 
schools,  and  the  young  man — of  course  there  were  no  col- 
lege women — fitted  himself  as  best  he  could  by  private 
instruction.  To  reach  the  college  it  was  necessary  to  drive 
by  stage  or  private  conveyance  to  the  college  town,  to  find 
rooms  in  an  ill-equipped  dormitory  or  private  house,  to  be 
content  with  plain  food  for  the  body  and  a  narrow  course 
of  study  for  the  mind.  The  method  of  instruction  was 
tedious  and  uninspiring;  text-books  were  unattractive  and 
dull.  There  were  no  libraries  worthy  of  the  name,  no 
laboratories  or  observatories  for  research.  Scientific  in- 
struction was  conspicuous  by  its  absence;  the  social  sciences 
were  unknown.  Gymnasiums  had  not  been  evolved  from 
the  college  wood-pile;  intercollegiate  sports  were  unknown. 
Glee  clubs,  dramatic  societies,  college  journalism,  and  the 
other  arts  and  pastimes  that  give  color  and  variety  to 
modern  university  life  were  unknown. 

In  the  same  period  modes  of  thinking  have  changed. 


Characteristics  of  Social  Life  13 

Scientific  discoveries  and  the  principles  that  have  been 
based  on  them  have  wrought  a  revolution.  Evolution  has 
become  a  word  to  conjure  with.  Scholars  think  in  terms 
of  process.  Biological  investigation  has  opened  wide  the 
whole  realm  of  life  and  emphasized  the  place  of  develop- 
ment in  the  physical  organism.  Psychological  study  has 
changed  the  basis  of  philosophy.  Sociology  has  come  with 
new  interpretations  of  human  life.  Rapid  changes  are 
taking  place  at  the  present  time  in  education,  in  religion, 
and  in  social  adjustments.  The  rate  of  progress  varies  in 
different  parts  of  the  world ;  there  are  handicaps  in  the  form 
of  race  conservatism,  local  and  individual  self-satisfaction 
and  independence,  maladjustments  and  isolation;  some- 
times the  process  leads  along  a  downward  path.  On  the 
whole,  however,  the  history  is  a  story  of  progress. 

1 6.  Weaknesses. — In  the  thinking  of  not  a  few  persons 
the  handicaps  that  lie  in  the  path  of  social  development 
bulk  larger  than  the  engines  of  progress.  They  are  pessi- 
mistic over  the  weaknesses  that  constitute  a  fifth  char- 
acteristic of  social  life.  These  are  certainly  not  to  be 
overlooked,  but  they  are  an  inevitable  result  of  incomplete 
adaptations  during  a  constant  process  of  change.  There 
are  numerous  illustrations  of  weakness.  Social  activity  is 
not  always  wisely  directed.  Association  frequently  de- 
velops antagonism  instead  of  co-operation.  In  trade  and 
industry  individuals  do  not  "play  fair."  Corporations 
are  sometimes  unjust.  Politics  are  liable  to  become  cor- 
rupt. In  the  various  associations  of  home  and  community 
life  indifference,  cruelty,  unchastity,  and  crime  add  to  the 
burdens  of  poverty,  disease,  and  wretchedness.  A  yellow 
press  mirrors  a  scandalous  amount  of  intrigue,  immorality, 
and  misdemeanor.  Government  abuses  its  power;  public 
opinion  is  intolerant  and  unjust;  fashion  is  tyrannical;  law 
is  uncompromising.  In  times  like  our  own  economic  inter- 
ests frequently  overshadow  cultural  interests.  In  college 
estimation  athletics  appear  to  bulk  larger  than  the  curricu- 
lum. In  the  public  mind  prejudice  and  hasty  judgments 
take  precedence  over  carefully  weighed  opinions  and  judicial 
decisions.  Conservatism  blocks  the  wheels  of  progress,  or 


14         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

radicalism,  in  its  unbalanced  enthusiasm,  destroys  by  in- 
judiciousness  the  good  that  has  been  gradually  accumulat- 
ing. The  social  machinery  gets  out  of  gear,  or  proves 
inefficient  for  the  new  burdens  that  frequently  are  imposed 
upon  it.  The  social  order  is  not  perfect  and  needs  occa- 
sional amendment. 

17.  Resultant  Problems. — These  weaknesses  precipitate 
specific  social  problems.     Some  of  them  are  bound  up  in  the 
family  relationships,  like  the  better  regulation  of  marriage 
and  divorce,  the  prevention  of  desertion,  and  the  rights  of 
women  and  children.     Others  are  questions  that  relate  to 
industry,  such  as  the  rights  of  employees  with  reference  to 
wages  and  hours  of  labor,  or  the  unhealthy  conditions  in 
which  working  people  live  and  toil.     Certain  matters  are 
issues  in  every  community.     It  is  not  easy  to  decide  what 
shall  be  done  with  the  poor,  the  unfortunate,  and  the  weak- 
willed  members  of  society.     Some  problems  are  peculiar 
to  the  country,  the  city,  or  the  nation,  like  the  need  of 
rural  co-operation,  the  improvement  of  municipal  efficiency, 
or  the  regulation  of  immigration.    A  few  are  international, 
like  the  scourge  of  war.     Besides  such  specific  problems 
there  are  always  general  issues  demanding  the  attention  of 
social  thinkers  and  reformers,  such  as  the  adjustment  of 
individual  rights  to  social  duties,  and  the  improvement  of 
moral  and  religious  efficiency. 

18.  The  Social  Groups. — A  broad  survey  of  the  current 
life  of  society  leads  naturally  to  the  questions:  How  is  this 
social  life  organized?  and  How  did  it  come  to  be?    The 
answers  to  these  questions  appear  in  certain  social  group- 
ings, each  of  which  has  a  history  and  life  of  its  own,  but  is 
only  a  segment  of  the  whole  circle  of  active  association. 
These  groupings  include  the  family,  the  rural  community, 
the  city,  and  the  nation.     In  the  natural  environment  of 
the  home  social  life  finds  its  apprenticeship.    When  the 
child  has  become  in  a  measure  socialized,  he  enters  into 
the  larger  relations  of  the  neighborhood.    Half  the  people 
of  the  United  States  live  in  country  communities,  but  an 
increasing  proportion  of  the  population  is  found  in  the 
midst  of  the  associations  and  activities  of  the  larger  civic 


Characteristics  of  Social  Life  15 

community.  All  are  citizens  or  wards  of  the  nation,  and 
have  a  part  in  the  social  life  of  America.  Consciously  or 
not  they  have  still  wider  relations  in  a  world  life  that  is 
continually  growing  in  social  content.  Each  of  these 
groups  reveals  the  same  fundamental  characteristics,  but 
each  has  its  peculiar  forms  and  its  dominant  energies;  each 
has  its  perplexing  problems  and  each  its  possibilities  of 
greater  good.  Through  the  environment  the  forces  of  the 
mind  are  moulding  a  life  that  is  gradually  becoming  more 
nearly  like  the  social  ideal. 

READING  REFERENCES 

GIDDINGS:  Principles  of  Sociology,  pages  363-399. 

SMALL  AND  VINCENT:  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Society,  pages 

237-240. 

DEALEY:  Sociology,  pages  58-73. 
Ross:  Social  Control,  pages  49-61. 
Ross:  Foundations  of  Sociology,  pages  182-255. 
BLACKMAR  AND  GILLIN:  Outlines  of  Sociology,  pages  271-282. 


CHAPTER  II 
UNORGANIZED   GROUP  LIFE 

19.  Temporary  Groups. — A  study  of  the  organization 
and  development  of  social  life  is  mainly  a  study  of  the 
mental  and  physical  activities  of  individuals  associated  in 
permanent   groups.     Conditions   change   and    there   is   a 
continual  shifting  of  contacts  as  in  a  kaleidoscope,  but 
the  group  is  a  fixed  institution  in  the  life  of  society.    But 
besides  the  permanent  groups  there  are  temporary  unor- 
ganized associations  that  have  a  place  in  social  life  too 
important  to  be  overlooked.     They  vary  in  size  from  a 
chance  meeting  of  two  or  three  friends  who  stop  on  the 
street  corner  and  separate  after  a  few  minutes  of  conversa- 
tion, to  the  great  mass-meeting,  that  is  called  for  a  special 
purpose  and  interests  a  whole  neighborhood,  but  adjourns 
sine  die.    Such  groups  are  subject  to  the  same  physical 
and  psychic  forces  that  affect  the  family,  the  community, 
and  the  nation,  but  they  tend  to  act  more  on  impulse, 
because  there  is  no  habitual  subordination  to  an  established 
rule  or  order.     A  simple  illustration  will  show  the  influ- 
ences that  work  to  produce  these  temporary  groupings  and 
that  govern  conduct. 

20.  How  the  Group  Forms. — Imagine  a  working  man  on 
the  morning  of  a  holiday.     Without  a  fixed  purpose  how  he 
will  spend  the  day,  his  mind  works  along  the  line  of  least 
resistance,  inviting  physical  or  mental  stimulus,  and  sensi- 
tive to  respond.     He  is  not  accustomed  to  remain  at  home, 
nor  does  he  wish  to  be  alone.     He  is  used  to  the  companion- 
ship of  the  factory,  and  instinctively  he  longs  for  the  asso- 
ciation of  his  kind.     He  is  most  likely  to  meet  his  acquain- 
tances on  the  street,  and  he  feels  the  pull  of  the  out-of-doors. 
The  influences  of  instinct  and  habit  impel  him  to  activity, 
and  he  makes  a  definite  choice  to  leave  the  house.     Once 
on  the  street  he  feels  the  zest  of  motion  and  the  anticipation 

16 


Unorganized  Group  Life  17 

of  the  pleasure  that  he  will  find  in  the  companionship  of 
his  fellows.  Reason  assures  him  from  past  experience  that 
he  has  made  a  good  choice,  and  on  general  principles  asserts 
that  exercise  is  good  for  him,  whatever  may  be  the  social 
result  of  his  stroll.  Thus  the  various  factors  that  produce 
individual  activity  are  at  work  hi  him.  They  are  similarly 
at  work  in  others  of  his  kind.  Presently  these  factors  will 
bring  them  together. 

Unconsciously  the  working  man  and  his  friend  are  mov- 
ing toward  each  other.  The  attention  and  discrimination 
of  each  man  is  brought  into  play  with  every  person  that  he 
meets,  but  there  is  no  recognition  of  acquaintance  until 
each  comes  within  the  range  of  vision  of  the  other.  They 
greet  each  other  with  a  hail  of  good-fellowship  and  a  cordial 
hand-shake  and  stop  for  conversation.  An  analysis  of  the 
psychological  elements  that  enter  into  such  an  incident 
would  make  plain  the  part  of  sense-perception  and  memory, 
of  feeling  and  volition  in  the  act  of  each,  but  the  significant 
fact  in  the  incident  is  that  these  mental  factors  are  set  to 
work  because  of  the  contact  of  one  mind  upon  the  other. 
It  is  the  mental  interaction  arising  from  the  moment's 
association  that  produces  the  social  phenomenon.  What 
are  the  social  phenomena  of  this  particular  occasion  ?  They 
are  the  acts  that  have  taken  place  because  of  association. 
The  individual  would  not  greet  himself  or  shake  hands 
with  himself,  or  stop  to  talk  with  himself.  They  are 
dependent  upon  the  presence  of  more  than  one  person; 
they  are  phenomena  of  the  group.  Why  do  they  shake 
hands  and  talk?  First,  because  they  feel  alike  and  think 
alike,  and  sympathy  and  like-mindedness  seek  expression 
in  gesture  and  language,  and,  secondly,  because  their  mode 
of  action  is  under  the  control  of  a  social  custom  that  di- 
rects specific  acts.  If  the  meeting  was  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  the  men  might  embrace,  if  it  was  in  the  jungle  of 
Africa  they  might  raise  a  yell  at  sight  of  each  other,  but 
American  custom  limits  the  greeting  to  a  hand-clasp,  sup- 
plemented on  occasion  by  a  slap  on  the  shoulder.  In  Italy 
the  language  used  is  peculiar  to  the  race  and  is  helped  out 
by  many  gestures;  in  New  England  of  the  Puritans  the 


18         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

language  used  would  be  of  a  type  peculiar  to  itself,  and 
would  hardly  have  the  assistance  of  a  changing  facial 
expression.  To-day  two  men  have  formed  a  temporary 
group,  group  action  has  taken  place,  and  the  action,  while 
impulsive,  is  under  the  constraint  of  present  custom.  What 
happens  next? 

21.  The  Working  of  the  Social  Mind. — Conversation  in 
the  group  develops  a  common  purpose.     The  two  men  are 
conscious  of  common  desires  and  interests,  or  through  a 
conflict  of  ideas  the  will  of  one  subordinates  the  will  of  the 
other,  and  under  the  control  of  the  joint  purpose,  which  is 
now  the  social  mind,  they  move  toward  one  goal.    This 
goal  soon  appears  to  be  the  objective  point  of  a  larger  social 
mind,  for  other  men  and  boys  are  converging  in  the  same 
direction.    At  the  corner  of  another  street  the  two  com- 
panions meet  other  friends,  and  after  a  mutual  greeting 
the  augmented  party  finds  its  way  to  the  entrance  of  a  ball 
park.    The  same  instincts  and  habits  and  the  same  feelings 
and  thoughts  have  stirred  in  every  member  of  the  group; 
they  have  felt  the  pull  of  the  same  desires  and  interests; 
they  have  put  themselves  in  motion  toward  the  same  goal; 
they  have  greeted  one  another  in  similar  fashion,  and  they 
find  satisfaction  hi  talking  together  on  a  common  topic; 
but  they  do  not  constitute  a  permanent  or  organized  group, 
and  once  separated  they  may  never  repeat  this  chance 
meeting. 

22.  The  Impulse  of  the  Crowd. — Once  within  the  ball 
park  and  seated  on  the  long  benches  they  are  part  of  a  far 
larger  group  of  like-minded  human  beings,  and  they  feel  a 
common  thrill  in  anticipation  of  the  pleasure  of  the  sport. 
They  feel  the  stimulus  that  comes  from  obedience  to  a 
common  impulse.    A  shout  or  a  joke  arouses  a  sympathetic 
outburst  from  hundreds.     When  they  came  together  at 
first  most  of  them  were  strangers,  but  common  interests 
and  emotions  have  produced  a  group  consciousness.    The 
game  is  called,  and  hundreds  in  unison  fix  their  attention 
on  the  men  in  action.    A  hit  is  made,  in  breathless  suspense 
the  crowd  watches  to  see  the  result,  and  with  a  common 
impulse  cries  out  simultaneously  in  approbation  or  disgust 


Unorganized  Group  Life  19 

over  the  play.  As  the  game  proceeds  primitive  passions 
play  over  the  crowd  and  emotions  find  free  expression  in 
the  language  that  habit  and  custom  provide.  The  crowd 
is  in  a  state  of  high  suggestibility;  it  responds  to  the  stimu- 
lus of  a  chance  remark,  the  misplay  of  a  player,  or  the  mis- 
judgment  of  an  umpire;  one  moment  it  is  thrown  into  panic 
by  the  prospect  of  defeat,  and  the  next  into  paroxysms  of 
delight  as  the  tide  of  victory  turns.  On  sufficient  provo- 
cation the  crowd  gets  into  motion,  impelled  by  a  common 
excitement  to  unreasoning  action;  it  pours  upon  the  field, 
and,  unless  prevented,  wreaks  its  anger  upon  team  or  um- 
pire that  has  aroused  it  to  fury,  but  met  with  superior 
force  the  crowd  melts  away,  dissolving  into  its  smaller 
groups  and  then  into  its  individual  elements.  A  crowd  of 
the  sort  described  constitutes  one  type  of  the  incomplete 
group.  It  is  a  chance  assembly,  moved  by  a  common 
purpose  but  coalescing  only  temporarily,  guided  by  ele- 
mental impulses,  and  readily  breaking  up  without  perma- 
nent achievement  other  than  obtaining  the  recreation 
sought. 

23.  The  Mass-Meeting. — Another  and  more  orderly  type 
appears  in  a  meeting  of  American  residents  in  a  foreign 
city  to  protest  against  an  outrage  to  their  flag  or  an  injus- 
tice to  one  of  their  number.  Those  who  assemble  are  not 
members  of  a  definite  organization  with  a  regular  machinery 
for  action.  They  are,  however,  moved  by  common  emo- 
tion and  purpose,  because  they  are  conscious  of  a  perma- 
nent bond  that  creates  mutual  sympathy.  They  are  citi- 
zens of  the  same  country.  They  are  mindful  of  a  national 
history  that  is  their  common  heritage.  They  are  proud 
of  the  position  of  eminence  that  belongs  to  the  Western 
republic.  There  is  a  peculiar  quality  to  the  patriotism 
that  they  all  feel  and  that  calls  out  a  unanimous  expression. 
Their  minds  work  alike,  and  they  come  together  to  give 
expression  to  their  feelings  and  convictions.  They  are 
under  the  direction  of  a  presiding  officer  and  the  procedure 
of  the  meeting  is  according  to  the  parliamentary  rules  that 
guide  civilized  assemblies.  However  urgent  of  purpose, 
the  speakers  hold  themselves  in  leash,  and  the  listeners 


20         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

content  themselves  with  conventional  applause  when  their 
enthusiasm  is  aroused.  After  a  reasonable  amount  of 
discussion  has  taken  place,  the  assembly  crystallizes  its 
opinions  in  the  form  of  resolutions  couched  in  earnest  but 
dignified  language  and  disperses  to  await  the  action  of 
those  in  authority. 

24.  International  Association. — Still  another  type  is  the 
incomplete  group  that  is  composed  of  men  and  women  of 
similar  moral  or  religious  convictions  who  never  assemble 
in  one  place,  but  constitute  a  certain  kind  of  association. 
Kipling  could  sing, 

"The  East  is  East  and  the  West  is  West 
And  never  the  twain  shall  meet," 

yet  through  missionary  efforts  people  of  very  different 
races  and  habits  of  living  and  thinking  have  been  brought 
to  cherish  the  same  beliefs  and  to  adopt  similar  customs. 
Thousands  of  such  people  in  all  parts  of  the  world  consti- 
tute a  unified  group  because  of  their  mental  interaction, 
though  they  may  never  meet  and  are  not  organized  in 
common.  The  only  medium  through  which  one  section 
has  influenced  another  may  be  a  single  missionary  or  book, 
but  the  electric  current  of  sympathy  passes  from  one  to 
another  as  effectively  as  the  wireless  carries  a  message 
across  leagues  of  space.  In  the  same  way  sentiment  and 
opinion  spread  and  reproduce  themselves,  even  through 
long  periods  of  time.  Before  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  Chinese  sentiment  was  so  strong  against  the  im- 
portation of  opium  from  India  that  war  broke  out  with 
England,  with  the  result  that  the  curse  was  fastened  upon 
the  Orient.  The  evil  increased,  spreading  through  many 
countries.  Meantime  international  fortunes  brought  the 
United  States  to  the  Philippines  and  trade  carried  opium 
to  the  United  States.  Foreigners  in  China  combated  the 
evil.  The  nation  took  a  determined  stand,  and  finally, 
through  international  agreement  under  American  leader- 
ship, the  trade  and  the  consumption  of  opium  were  checked. 
Similarly  slavery  was  put  under  the  opprobrium  of  Chris- 


Unorganized  Group  Life  21 

tendom,  public  opinion  in  one  nation  after  another  was 
formed  against  it,  laws  were  passed  condemning  it,  and 
at  last  it  received  an  international  ban.  At  the  present 
time,  through  agitation  and  conference,  a  world  sentiment 
against  war  is  increasing,  and  pacifists  in  every  land  con- 
stitute an  expanding  group  of  like-minded  men  and  women 
who  are  determined  that  wars  shall  cease  in  the  future. 
These  are  all  examples  of  unorganized  associations  or  in- 
complete groups. 

25.  Experiments   in   Association. — In    the   history   of 
human  kind  numerous   experiments  in   association  have 
been  made;  those  which  have  served  well  in  the  competition 
between  groups  have  survived,  and  have  tended  to  become 
permanent  types  of  association,  receiving  the  sanction  of 
society,  and  so  to  be  reckoned  as  social  institutions;  others 
have  been  thrown  on  the  rubbish  heap  as  worthless.     It  is 
generally  believed,  for  example,  that  many  related  families 
in  primitive  times  associated  in  a  loosely  connected  horde, 
but  the  horde  could  not  compete  successfully    with    an 
organized  state  and  gave  way  before  it.     The  local  com- 
munity in  New  England  once  carried  on  its  affairs  satis- 
factorily in  yearly  mass-meeting,  where  every  citizen  had 
an  equal  privilege  of  speaking  and  voting  directly  upon  a 
proposed  measure,  but  there  proved  to  be  a  limit  to  the 
efficiency  of  such  government  when  the  population  in- 
creased, so  that  a  meeting  of  all  the  citizens  was  impossible, 
and  a  constitutional  assembly  of  representative  citizens 
was  devised.     Similarly  national  governments  have  been 
organized  for  greater  efficiency  and  machinery  is  being 
invented  frequently  to  increase  their  value. 

26.  Kinds  of  Unorganized  Groups. — Unorganized  groups 
are  of  three  kinds:    There  are  first  the  normal  groups  that 
are  continually  being  formed  and  dissolved,  but  that  per- 
form a  useful  function  while  they  exist.     Such  are  the 
chance  meetings  and  conversations  of  friends  in  all  walks 
of  life,  and  the  crowds  that  gather  occasionally  to  help 
forward  a  good  cause.     They  promote  general  intelligence, 
provide  a  free  exchange  of  ideas,  and  help  to  form  a  body 
of  public  opinion  for  social  guidance.     There  is  often  an 


22         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

open-mindedness  among  the  common  people  that  is  not 
vitiated  by  the  grip  of  vested  interests  upon  their  unwarped 
judgments,  and  the  people  can  be  trusted  in  the  long  run 
to  make  good.  Democracy  is  based  upon  the  reliability 
of  public  opinion. 

The  second  kind  of  unorganized  group  is  one  that  is  on 
the  way  to  becoming  a  permanent  group  sanctioned  by 
society.  A  group  of  this  type  is  the  boy's  gang.  By  most 
persons  the  spontaneous  association  of  a  dozen  boys  who 
live  near  together  and  range  over  a  certain  district  has 
been  condemned  as  a  social  evil;  recently  it  has  become 
recognized  as  a  normal  group,  forming  naturally  at  a  cer- 
tain period  of  boy  life  and  falling  to  pieces  of  its  own 
accord  a  few  years  later.  The  tendency  of  boy  leaders  is 
not  only  to  give  it  recognition  as  legitimate,  but  to  use  the 
gang  instinct  to  promote  definite  organizations  of  greater 
value  to  their  members  and  to  the  community.  Another 
group  of  the  same  type  is  a  so-called  "movement,"  com- 
posed of  a  few  individuals  who  associate  themselves  in  a 
loose  way  to  further  a  definite  purpose,  like  the  promotion 
of  temperance,  hold  mass-meetings,  and  create  public 
opinion,  but  do  not  at  once  proceed  to  a  permanent  organi- 
zation. Eventually,  when  the  movement  has  gathered 
sufficient  headway  or  has  shown  that  it  is  permanently 
valuable,  a  fixed  organization  may  be  accomplished. 

The  third  kind  of  unorganized  group  is  an  abnormality 
in  the  midst  of  civilization,  a  relic  of  the  primitive  days 
when  impulse  rather  than  reason  swayed  the  mind  of  a 
group.  Such  is  the  crowd  that  gathers  in  a  moment  of 
excitement  and  yields  to  a  momentary  passion  to  lynch  a 
prisoner,  or  a  revolutionary  mob  that  loots  and  burns  out  of 
a  sheer  desire  for  destruction.  Such  a  group  has  not  even 
the  value  of  a  safety-valve,  for  its  passion  gathers  momen- 
tum as  it  goes,  and,  like  a  conflagration,  it  cannot  be 
stopped  until  it  has  burned  itself  out  or  met  a  solid  wall 
of  military  authority. 

27.  The  Popular  Crowd  vs.  the  Organized  Group. — In 
the  routine  life  of  a  disciplined  society  there  is  always  to 
be  found  at  least  one  of  these  types.  Even  the  abnormal 


Unorganized  Group  Life  23 

type  of  the  passionate  crowd  is  not  unusual  in  its  milder 
form.  Any  unusual  event  like  a  fire  or  a  circus  will  draw 
scores  and  hundreds  together,  and  the  crowd  is  always 
liable  to  fall  into  disorder  unless  officers  of  the  law  are  in 
attendance.  This  is  so  well  understood  that  the  police  are 
always  in  evidence  where  there  are  large  congregations  of 
people  at  church  or  theatre,  where  a  prominent  man  is  to 
be  seen  or  a  procession  is  to  pass.  But  the  popular  mass 
is  a  volatile  thing,  and  in  proportion  to  its  size  it  expends 
little  useful  energy.  It  is  never  to  be  reckoned  as  equal  in 
importance  to  the  organized  company,  however  small  it 
may  be,  that  has  a  definite  purpose  guiding  its  regular 
action,  and  that  persists  in  its  purpose  for  years  together. 
It  is  the  fixed  group,  the  social  institution,  that  does  the 
work  of  the  world  and  carries  society  forward  from  lower 
to  higher  levels  of  civilization.  Social  efficiency  belongs 
to  the  organized  type. 

READING  REFERENCES 

COOLEY:  Social  Organization,  pages  149-156. 

GIDDINGS:  Elements  of  Sociology,  pages  129-140. 

Ross:  Foundations  of  Sociology,  pages  120-138. 

Ross:  Social  Psychology,  pages  43-82. 

MUNSTERBERG:  Psychology,  General  and  Applied,  pages  269-273. 

DAVENPORT:  Primitive  Traits  in  Religious  Revivals,  pages  25-31. 


PART  II— LIFE   IN  THE   FAMILY  GROUP 
CHAPTER  III 

FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  FAMILY 

28.  The  Fundamental  Importance  of  the  Family.— 
Social  life  can  be  understood  best  by  taking  the  simplest 
organized  group  of  human  beings  and  analyzing  its  activi- 
ties, its  organization,  and  its  development.  The  family  is 
such  a  group  and  is,  therefore,  a  natural  basis  for  study. 
It  illustrates  most  of  the  phases  of  social  activity,  it  is 
simple  in  its  organization,  its  history  goes  back  to  primitive 
times,  and  it  is  rapidly  changing  in  the  present.  Family 
life  is  made  up  of  the  interactions  of  individual  life,  and, 
therefore,  the  individual  in  his  social  relations  and  not  the 
family  is  the  unit  of  sociological  investigation,  but  until 
recent  years  the  family  group  has  been  regarded  as  of 
greater  importance  than  the  individual,  and  hi  the  Orient 
the  family  still  occupies  the  place  of  importance.  Out  of 
the  family  have  developed  such  institutions  as  property, 
law,  and  government,  and  on  the  maintenance  of  the 
family  rests  the  future  welfare  of  society.  It  has  been 
claimed  that  "the  study  of  the  single  family  on  its  home- 
stead would  yield  richer  scientific  knowledge  and  more 
practical  results  in  the  great  social  sciences  than  almost 
any  other  single  object  in  the  social  world.  Pursued  his- 
torically, the  student  would  find  himself  at  the  roots  of 
property,  separate  ownership  of  land,  inheritance,  taxa- 
tion, free  trade  and  tariff,  and  discover  the  germs  of  inter- 
national law  and  the  state.  The  great  questions  of  the 
day,  as  we  call  them,  are  little  more  than  incidents  to  the 
working  out  of  the  great  social  institutions,  and  these  are 
the  expansions  and  modified  forms  of  the  family  amid  its 
unceasing  support  and  activity." 

24 


Foundations  of  the  Family  25 

29.  The  Family  on  the  Farm. — The  best  environment 
in  which  to  study  the  family  is  the  farm.     There  the  rela- 
tions and  activities  of  the  larger  world  appear  in  miniature, 
but  with  a  greater  simplicity  and  unity  than  elsewhere. 
There  the  family  gets  closer  to  the  soil,  and  its  members 
feel  their  relation  to  nature  and  the  restrictions  that  nature 
imposes  upon  human  activity.     There  appear  the  occupa- 
tions of  the  successive  stages  of  history — hunting,  the  care 
of  domesticated  animals,  agriculture,  and  manufacturing; 
there  are  the  activities  of  production,  distribution,  and 
consumption  of  economic  goods.     There  a  consciousness  of 
mutual  dependence  is  developed,  and  the  value  of  co- 
operation is  illustrated.     There  the  mind  ranges  less  fet- 
tered than  in  the  town,  yet  is  less  inclined  toward  radical 
changes.     There   the   family  preserves   and  hands   down 
from  one  generation  to  another  the  heritage  of  the  past, 
and  stimulates  its  members  to  further  progress.     In  the 
family  on  the  farm  children  learn  how  to  live  in  association 
with  their  kin  and  with  hired  employees;  there  much  of 
the  mental,  moral,  and  religious  training  is  begun;  and 
there  is  found  most  of  the  sympathy  and  encouragement 
that  nerves  the  boy  to  go  out  from  home  for  the  struggle  of 
life  in  the  larger  community  and  the  world. 

30.  Physical  Conditions  of  Farm  Life. — Every  group, 
like  every  individual,  is  dependent  in  a  measure  on  its 
physical  environment.     The  prosperity  of  the  family  on 
the  farm  and  the  daily  activities  of  its  members  wait  often 
upon  the  quality  of  climate  and  soil  and  the  temper  of  the 
weather.     The  rocky  hillsides  of  mountain  lands  like  Swit- 
zerland breed  a  hardy,  self-reliant  people,  who  make  the 
most    of    small    opportunities    for    agriculture.     A    well- 
watered,  rolling  country  pours  its  riches  into  the  lap  of  the 
husbandman;  in  such  surroundings  he  is  likely  to  be  more 
cheerful  but  less  gritty  than  the  Scottish  highlander.     The 
pioneer  settlers  of  America,  in  their  trek  into  the  interior, 
faced  the  forest  and  its  terrors,  and  every  member  of  the 
family  who  was  old  enough  added  his  ounce  of  effort  to  the 
struggle  to  subdue  it.     Their  descendants  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  the  earlier  victory.     The  well-trimmed  woodland  and 


26         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

fertile  field  are  attractive  to  him;  nature  in  varying  moods 
interests  him.  Even  on  the  edge  of  the  Western  desert  the 
farmer  is  the  master  of  a  process  of  dry  farming  or  irriga- 
tion, so  that  he  can  smile  at  nature's  effort  to  drive  him 
out.  Science  and  education  have  helped  to  make  man 
more  independent  of  natural  forces  and  natural  moods, 
but  still  it  is  nature  that  provides  the  raw  materials,  that 
supplies  the  energy  of  wind  and  water  and  sunshine,  and 
that  hastens  prosperity  if  man  learns  to  co-operate  with  it. 
Success  in  the  economic  struggle  of  the  family  has  always 
been  conditioned  upon  the  physical  environment,  and  it 
will  always  remain  one  of  the  factors  that  shape  human 
destiny. 

31.  Inheritance  of  Family  Traits. — Another  factor  that 
enters  into  family  life  is  the  physical  nature  of  its  members, 
the  quality  of  the  stock  from  which  the  family  is  descended. 
Heredity  is  as  important  in  sociological  study  as  environ- 
ment.    It  is  well  known  that  a  child  inherits  racial  and 
family  traits  from  his  ancestors,  and  these  he  cannot  shake 
off  altogether  as  he  grows  older.     Families  have   their 
peculiarities  that  continue  from  one  generation  to  another. 
The  family  endowment  is  often  the  foundation  of  individual 
success.    Without  physical  sturdiness  the  man  and  woman 
on  the  farm  are  seriously  handicapped  and  are  liable  to 
succumb  in   the  struggle  for  existence;   without  mental 
ability  and  moral  stamina  members  of  the  family  fail  to 
make  a  broad  mark  on  the  community,  and  the  family 
influence  declines.     Mere  acquisition  or  transmission  of 
wealth  does  not  constitute  good  fortune.     This  fact  of 
heredity  must  therefore  be  reckoned  with  in  all  the  activi- 
ties of  the  family,  and  cannot  be  overlooked  in  a  study  of 
the  psychic  factors  which  are  the  real  social  forces. 

32.  The  Domestic  Function  of  the  Family. — The  farm 
family  for  the  purpose  of  study  may  be  thought  of  as  com- 
posed of  husband  and  wife,  children  and  servants,  but  the 
makers  of  the  family  are  of  first  importance  for  its  under- 
standing.    The  family  has  a  long  history,  but  it  exists,  not 
because  it  is  a  long-established  institution,  but  because  it 
satisfies  present  human  needs,  as  all  institutions  must  if 


Foundations  of  the  Family  27 

they  are  to  survive.  The  family  serves  many  ends,  but  as 
the  primary  social  instincts  are  to  mate  and  to  eat,  so  the 
principal  functions  of  the  family  are  the  domestic  and  the 
economic.  The  normal  adult  desires  to  mate,  to  have  and 
rear  children,  and  to  make  a  home.  To  this  his  sexual  and 
parental  instincts  impel  him;  they  are  nature's  provision 
for  the  perpetuation  of  the  race.  The  sex  instinct  attracts 
the  man  and  the  woman  to  each  other,  and  marriage  is  the 
sanction  of  society  to  their  union;  the  parental  instinct 
gives  birth  to  children  and  leads  the  father  and  mother  to 
protect  the  child  through  the  long  years  of  dependence. 
Marriage  and  parenthood  are  twin  obligations  that  the 
individual  owes  to  the  race.  Celibacy  makes  no  contribu- 
tion to  the  perpetuation  of  the  race,  and  unregulated  sexual 
intercourse  is  a  blight  upon  society.  Marriage  lays  the 
foundation  of  the  home  and  makes  possible  the  values 
that  belong  to  that  institution.  Children  hold  the  family 
together;  separation  and  divorce  are  most  common  in 
childless  homes.  Personal  service  and  sacrifice  are  engen- 
dered in  the  care  of  children;  therefore  it  is  that  the  family 
without  children  is  not  a  perfect  family,  but  an  abnor- 
mality as  a  social  institution.  For  these  reasons  custom 
and  law  protect  the  home,  and  religion  declares  marriage  a 
sacred  bond  and  reproduction  a  sacred  function. 

It  is  the  long  experience  of  the  race  that  has  made  plain 
the  fundamental  importance  of  the  marriage  relation, 
and  history  shows  how  step  by  step  man  and  woman  have 
struggled  toward  higher  standards  of  mutual  appreciation 
and  co-operation.  From  past  history  and  present  tenden- 
cies it  is  possible  to  determine  values  and  weaknesses  and 
to  point  out  dangers  and  possibilities.  As  the  family 
group  is  fundamental  to  an  understanding  of  the  com- 
munity, so  the  relation  of  man  and  woman  are  essential  to 
a  comprehension  of  the  complete  family,  and  investigation 
of  their  relations  must  precede  a  study  of  the  social  develop- 
ment of  the  child  in  the  home,  or  of  the  economic  relations 
of  the  farmer  and  his  assistants.  Nothing  more  clearly 
illustrates  the  factors  that  enter  into  all  human  relations 
than  the  story  of  how  the  family  came  to  be. 


28         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING   REFERENCES 

HENDERSON:  Social  Elements,  pages  62-70. 

ELLWOOD:   Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,   1913  edition, 

pages  74-82. 

BOSANQUET:  The  Family,  pages  241-259. 
DEALEY:  The  Family  in  Its  Sociological  Aspects,  pages  i-n. 
BUTTERFIELD:  "Rural  Life  and  the  Family,"  American  Journal  of 

Sociology,  vol.  14,  pages  721-725. 
HENDERSON:  "Are  Modern  Industry  and  City  Life  Unfavorable  to 

the  Family?"   American  Journal  of  Sociology,  vol.  14,  pages 

668-675. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  HISTORY   OF  THE  FAMILY 

33.  How  the  Family  Came  to  Be. — The  modern  family 
among  civilized  peoples  is  based  almost  universally  on  the 
union  of  one  man  and  one  woman.  There  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  this  practice  of  monogamy  was  in  vogue 
among  primitive  human  beings,  but  marriage  was  unstable 
and  it  was  only  through  long  experimentation  that  monog- 
amy proved  itself  best  fitted  to  survive.  At  first  conjugal 
affection,  which  has  become  intelligent  and  moral,  was 
merely  a  sexual  desire  that  led  the  man  to  seek  a  mate 
and  the  maid  to  choose  among  her  suitors.  Unbound  by 
long-continued  custom  or  legal  and  ceremonial  restriction, 
the  primitive  couple  were  free  to  separate  if  they  pleased, 
but  the  instinctive  feeling  that  they  belonged  to  each 
other,  the  habits  of  association,  adaptation,  and  co-opera- 
tion, and  jealousy  at  any  attention  shown  by  another 
tended  to  preserve  the  relationship.  The  presence  of  off- 
spring sealed  the  bond  as  long  as  the  children  were  depen- 
dent, and  strengthened  the  sense  of  mutual  responsibility. 
The  children  were  peculiarly  the  mother's  children  since 
she  gave  them  birth,  but  the  father  instinctively  protected 
the  family  that  was  growing  up  around  him,  and  procured 
food  and  shelter  for  its  members,  though  it  is  doubtful  if 
he  had  any  realization  of  his  part  in  giving  life  to  a  new 
generation. 

During  this  period  of  social  development,  when  the 
mother's  presence  constituted  the  home  and  the  children 
were  regarded  as  belonging  primarily  to  her,  descent  was 
reckoned  in  the  female  line,  the  children  were  attached  to 
the  maternal  clan  of  blood  relatives,  and  such  relatives 
began  to  move  in  bands,  for  the  same  reason  that  animals 
move  in  packs  and  herds.  Some  writers  speak  of  it  as  a 

29 


30         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

matriarchal  period,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  women 
governed ;  it  is  more  proper  to  speak  of  the  family  as  metro- 
nymic, for  the  children  bore  the  mother's  name  and  mater- 
nity outweighed  paternity  in  social  estimate. 

34.  The  Patriarchal  Household. — When  population  in- 
creased and  food  consequently  became  more  difficult  to 
obtain,  the  domestication  of  animals  was  achieved,  and 
nomadic  habits  carried  the  family  from  pasture  to  pasture; 
rival  clans  wanted  the  same  regions,  wars  broke  out,  and 
physical  superiority  asserted  its  claims.     The  man  sup- 
planted the  woman  as  the  important  member  of  the  house- 
hold, reduced  the  others  to  submission,  added  to  his  wives 
and  servants  by  capture  or  purchase,  and  established  the 
patriarchal  system.     Descent  henceforth  was  reckoned  in 
the  paternal  line,   and   society  had   become  patronymic 
instead  of  metronymic.     It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this 
change  occurred  very  suddenly.    It  may  have  taken  many 
centuries  to  bring  it  about,  but  as  the  man  learned  his 
part  in  procreation  and  his  power  in  society,  he  delighted 
in  his  self-importance  to  lord  it  over  the  woman  and  her 
children.     The  marriage  relation  ceased  to  be  free  and 
reciprocal.     The  wife  no  longer  had  a  choice  in  marriage. 
Bought  or  captured,  she  was  no  longer  wooed  for  a  com- 
panion, but  was  valued  according  to  her  economic  worth. 
As  population  pressed,  the  domestication  of  plants  followed 
the  taming  of  animals,  but  the  agricultural  settlement  of 
the  family  only  made  the  woman's  lot  harder,  for  she  was 
the  burden  bearer  on  the  farm. 

35.  Polygyny — a  better  term  than  polygamy — was  the 
inevitable  result  of  the  patriarchal  system.     Man  made  the 
law  and  the  law  recognized  no  restraint  upon  his  sexual  and 
parental  instincts.     Improvements  in  living  added  to  the 
resources  of  the  family  and  made  it  possible  to  maintain 
large  households  of  wives,  children,  and  slaves.     Polygyny 
had  some  social  utility,  because  it  increased  the  number  of 
children,  and  this  gave  added  prestige  and  power  to  the 
family,  as  slavery  had  utility  because  it  provided  a  labor 
force;  but  both  were  weaknesses  in  ancient  society,  be- 
cause they  did  not  tend  in  the  long  run  to  human  welfare. 


The  History  of  the  Family  31 

Polygyny  brutalized  men,  degraded  women,  and  destroyed 
that  affection  and  comradeship  between  parents  and  their 
offspring  that  are  the  proper  heritage  of  children.  Wher- 
ever it  has  survived  as  a  system,  polygyny  has  hindered 
progress,  and  wherever  it  exists  in  the  midst  of  monogamy 
it  tends  to  break  down  civilization. 

Another  variety  of  marriage  that  has  been  less  common 
than  polygyny  is  polyandry.  It  is  a  term  that  signifies  the 
marriage  of  one  woman  to  several  husbands,  and  seems  to 
have  occurred,  as  in  the  interior  of  Asia,  only  where  sub- 
sistence was  especially  difficult  or  women  comparatively 
few.  Neither  polygyny  nor  polyandry  were  universal,  even 
where  they  were  a  frequent  practice.  Only  the  few  could 
afford  the  indulgence,  much  the  largest  percentage  of  the 
people  remained  monogamous. 

36.  Conflict  and  Social  Selection. — The  supreme  busi- 
ness of  the  social  group  is  to  adapt  itself  to  the  conditions 
that  affect  its  life.  It  must  learn  to  get  on  with  its  physical 
environment  and  with  other  social  groups  with  which  it 
comes  into  relation.  The  methods  of  adaptation  are  con- 
flict and  co-operation.  The  primitive  savage  and  his  wife 
learned  to  work  together,  and  his  family  and  hers  very 
likely  kept  the  peace,  until  through  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion they  felt  the  pinch  of  hunger  when  the  supply  did 
not  equal  the  demand.  Then  came  conflict.  Conflict  is 
an  essential  element  in  all  progress.  There  is  conflict  be- 
tween the  lower  and  higher  impulses  in  the  human  mind, 
conflict  between  selfish  ambition  and  the  welfare  of  the 
group,  conflict  among  individuals  and  races  for  a  place  in 
the  sun.  It  is  conceivable  that  the  baser  impulses  that 
provoke  much  social  conflict  may  give  way  to  more  rational 
and  altruistic  purpose,  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  all 
friction  can  be  avoided  in  social  relations.  It  is  certainly 
to  be  reckoned  with  in  the  history  of  group  life. 

The  story  of  human  progress  shows  that  in  the  social 
conflict  those  groups  survive  which  have  become  best 
adapted  to  life  conditions  and  so  are  fitted  to  cope  with 
their  enemies.  In  the  story  of  the  family  male  leadership 
proved  most  useful  and  was  perpetuated,  but  the  practice 


32          Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  polygyny  and  polyandry  proved  in  the  long  run  to  be 
hurtful  to  success  in  the  sturdy  struggle  for  existence. 

37.  Ancestor- Worship. — When  a  practice  or  institution 
is  seen  to  work  well  it  soon  becomes  indorsed  by  social 
custom,  law,  or  religion.     The  patriarchal  system  became 
fortified  by  ancestor-worship,  which  helped  to  keep  the 
family  subordinate  to  its  male  head.     Even  the  dead  hand 
of   the  patriarch   ruled.     The  paternal   ancestors  of   the 
family  were  believed  to  have  the  power  to  bless  or  curse 
their  descendants,  and  they  were  faithfully  placated  with 
gifts  and  veneration,  as  has  continued  to  be  the  custom  in 
China.     Among   the   Romans    the   household   gods   were 
cherished  at  the  hearth  long  before  Jupiter  became  king  of 
heaven;  .^Eneas  must  save  his  ancestral  images  if  he  lost 
all  else  in  the  fall  of  Troy.     At  Rome  the  worship  of  a 
common  ancestor  was  the  strongest  family  bond.     The 
marriage  ceremony  consisted  of  a  solemn  transfer  of  the 
bride  from  her  duties  to  her  own  ancestors  over  to  the 
adoption  of  her  husband's  gods.     This  transfer  of  allegiance 
helped  to  perpetuate  the  patriarchal  system,  and  the  sanc- 
tion of  religion  greatly  strengthened  the  wedded  relation,  so 
that  divorce  and  polygyny  were  unknown  in  the  old  Roman 
period.     But  the  absolute  patriarchal  control  of  wife  and 
children  made  the  man  selfish  and  arbitrary  and  weakened 
the  bond  of  affection  and  mutual  interests,  while  Roman 
political  conquest  strengthened  the  pride  and  power  of  the 
imperial  masters.     Religion  lost  its  prestige  and  the  family 
bond  loosened,  until  from  being  one  of  the  purest  of  social 
institutions  in  the  early  days  of  the  republic,  the  Roman 
family  became  one  of  the  most  degenerate.     This  boded  ill 
for  the  future  of  the  race  and  empire. 

38.  The  Mediaeval  Family. — The  Roman  family  seemed 
in  danger  of  disintegrating,  for  the  matron  claimed  rights 
that  ran  counter  to  the  rights  of  the  man,  when  two  new 
forces  entered  Roman  society  and  checked  this  tendency 
toward   disintegration.      The  first  was   Christianity,    the 
second  was  Teutonic  conquest.     Christianity  taught  con- 
sideration for  women  and  children,  but  it  taught  submis- 
sion to  the  man  in  the  home,  and  so  was  a  constructive 


The  History  of  the  Family  33 

force  in  the  conservation  of  the  family.  Teutonic  custom 
was  similar  to  the  early  Roman.  When  Teutonic  enter- 
prise pushed  a  new  race  over  the  goal  of  race  conflict  and 
took  in  charge  the  administration  of  affairs  in  Roman 
society,  there  was  a  restoration  of  the  rule  of  force  and  so 
of  masculine  supremacy.  In  the  lord's  castle  and  the 
peasant's  hut  the  authority  of  the  man  continued  unques- 
tioned through  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  church  made 
monogamous  marriage  a  binding  sacrament;  but  sexual 
infidelity  was  common,  especially  of  the  husband,  and  di- 
vorce was  not  unknown.  In  the  civilized  lands  of  Chris- 
tendom monogamy  was  the  only  form  of  marriage  recog- 
nized by  civil  law,  and  with  the  slow  growth  toward  higher 
standards  of  civilization  the  harshness  of  patriarchal  cus- 
tom has  become  softened  and  the  rights  of  women  and 
children  have  been  increased  by  law,  though  not  without 
endangering  the  solidarity  of  the  family.  Similarly,  the 
standards  of  sex  conduct  have  improved. 

39.  Advantages  of  Monogamy. — The  advantages  of 
monogamy  are  so  many  that  in  spite  of  the  present  restive- 
ness  under  restraint  it  seems  certain  to  become  the  perma- 
nent and  universal  type  as  reason  asserts  its  right  and  con- 
trols impulse.  Nature  seems  to  have  predetermined  it  by 
maintaining  approximately  an  equal  number  of  the  sexes, 
and  nature  frowns  upon  promiscuity  by  penalizing  it  with 
sterility  and  neglect  of  the  few  children  that  are  born,  so 
that  in  the  struggle  for  existence  the  fittest  survive  by  a 
process  of  natural  selection.  A  study  of  biology  and 
anthropology  gives  added  evidence  that  nature  favors 
monogamy,  for  in  the  highest  grade  of  animals  below  man 
the  monogamic  relation  holds  almost  without  exception, 
and  low-grade  human  races  follow  the  same  practice. 

There  are  moral  advantages  in  monogamy  that  alone 
are  sufficient  to  insure  its  permanence.  It  is  to  the  advan- 
tage of  society  that  altruistic  and  kindly  feelings  should 
outweigh  jealousy,  anger,  and  selfishness.  Monogamy 
encourages  affection  and  mutual  consideration,  and  in  that 
atmosphere  children  learn  the  graces  and  virtues  that  make 
social  life  wholesome  and  attractive.  Welcomed  in  the 


34         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

home,  they  receive  the  care  and  instruction  of  both  parents 
and  become  socialized  for  the  larger  and  later  responsibili- 
ties of  the  social  order.  In  the  altruism  thus  developed  lie 
the  roots  of  morals  and  religion.  It  is  well  agreed  that  the 
essence  of  each  is  the  right  motive  to  conduct.  Love  to 
men  and  to  God  is  an  accepted  definition  of  religion,  and 
ethics  is  grounded  on  that  principle.  Love  is  the  ruling 
principle  of  the  monogamic  family;  from  the  narrower 
domestic  circle  it  extends  to  the  community  and  to  all 
mankind. 

40.  Marriage  Laws. — In  spite  of  the  general  practice  of 
monogamy  as  a  form  of  marriage  and  the  noble  principles 
that  underlie  the  monogamic  type  of  family,  sex  relations 
need  the  restraint  of  law.  Human  desires  are  selfish  and 
ideals  too  often  give  way  before  them  unless  there  is  some 
kind  of  external  control.  There  have  been  times  when  the 
church  had  such  control,  and  in  certain  countries  individual 
rulers  have  determined  the  law;  but  since  the  eighteenth 
century  there  has  been  a  steady  trend  in  the  direction  of 
popular  control  of  all  social  relations.  This  tendency  has 
been  carried  farthest  in  the  United  States,  where  public 
opinion  voices  its  convictions  and  compels  legislative  action. 
It  is  natural  that  the  people  of  certain  States  should  be 
more  progressive  or  radical  than  others,  and  therefore  in 
the  absence  of  a  national  law,  there  is  considerable  variety 
in  the  marriage  and  divorce  laws,  but  no  other  country  has 
higher  ideals  of  the  married  relation  and  at  the  same  time 
as  large  a  measure  of  freedom. 

At  present  marriage  laws  in  the  United  States  agree 
generally  on  the  following  provisions: 

(1)  Every  marriage  must  be  licensed  by  the  State  and 
the  act  of  marriage  must  be  reported  to  the  State  and 
registered. 

(2)  Marriage  is  not  legal  below  a  certain  age,  and  con- 
sent of  parents  must  be  obtained  usually  until  the  man  is 
twenty-one  and  the  woman  eighteen. 

(3)  Certain  persons  are  forbidden  marriage  because  of 
near  relationship  or  personal  defect.     Such  marriage  if  per- 
formed may  be  annulled. 


The  History  of  the  Family  35 

(4)  Remarriage  may  take  place  after  the  death  of 
husband  or  wife,  after  disappearance  for  a  period  varying 
from  three  to  seven  years,  or  a  certain  time  after  divorce. 

In  the  twenty-year  period  between  1886  and  1906  covered 
by  the  United  States  Census  of  Marriage  and  Divorce  slow 
improvements  were  made  in  legislation,  but  a  number  of 
States  are  far  behind  others  in  the  enactment  of  suitable 
laws,  and  most  of  the  States  do  not  make  the  provisions 
that  are  desirable  for  law  enforcement.  Yet  there  is  a 
limit  of  strictness  beyond  which  marriage  laws  cannot 
safely  go,  because  they  hinder  marriage  and  provoke  illicit 
relations.  That  limit  is  fixed  by  the  sanction  of  public 
opinion.  After  all,  there  is  less  need  of  better  regulation 
than  of  the  education  of  public  opinion  to  the  sacredness  of 
marriage  and  to  its  importance  for  human  welfare.  With- 
out the  restraints  put  upon  impulse  by  the  education  of 
the  understanding  and  the  will,  young  people  often  assume 
family  obligations  thoughtlessly  and  even  flippantly,  when 
they  are  ill-mated  and  often  unacquainted  with  each  other's 
characteristic  qualities.  Such  marriages  usually  bring  dis- 
tress and  divorce  instead  of  growing  affection  and  unity. 
Without  education  in  the  obligation  of  marriage  many  well- 
qualified  persons  delay  it  or  avoid  it  altogether,  because 
they  are  unwilling  to  bear  the  burdens  of  family  support, 
childbearing,  and  housekeeping.  Society  suffers  loss  in 
both  cases. 

41.  Reforms  and  Ideals. — Because  of  all  these  deficien- 
cies several  remedies  have  been  proposed  and  certain  of 
them  adopted.  Because  of  the  economic  difficulties,  it  is 
urged  that  as  far  as  possible  by  legislation,  illegitimate 
ways  of  heaping  up  wealth  for  the  few  at  the  expense  of 
the  many  should  be  checked,  and  that  by  vocational  train- 
ing boys  should  be  fitted  for  a  trade  and  girls  prepared  for 
housekeeping.  To  meet  other  difficulties  it  is  proposed 
that  popular  instruction  be  given  from  press  and  pulpit,  in 
order  that  the  moral  and  spiritual  plane  of  married  life 
may  be  uplifted.  The  marriage  ideal  is  a  well-mated  pair, 
physically  and  intellectually  qualified,  who  through  affec- 
tion are  attracted  to  marriage  and  through  mutual  con- 


36         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

sideration  are  ready  unselfishly  to  seek  each  other's  welfare, 
and  who  recognize  in  marriage  a  divinely  ordered  provision 
for  human  happiness  and  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  race. 
Such  a  marriage  does  not  plant  the  seeds  of  discord  and 
neighborly  scandal  or  compel  a  speedy  resort  to  the  divorce 
court. 

READING   REFERENCES 

DEALEY:  The  Family  in  Its  Sociological  Aspects,  pages  12-84. 
HOWARD:  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  II,  pages  388-497. 
GOODSELL:   The  Family  as  a  Social  and  Educational  Institution, 

pages  5-47. 

BOSANQUET:  The  Family,  part  I. 
"  Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,  1906,"  Bureau  of  the  Census,  I, 

pages  224-226. 
BLISS:  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  art.  "Family." 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  MAKING  OF  THE  HOME 

42.  The  Story  of  the  Home. — Marriage  is  the  gateway 
of  the  home;  the  home  is  the  shelter  of  the  family.  It  is 
the  cradle  of  children,  the  nursery  of  mutual  affection,  and 
the  training-school  for  citizenship  in  the  community.  The 
physical  comfort  of  its  inmates  depends  upon  the  house 
and  its  furnishings,  but  fondness  for  the  home  develops 
only  in  an  atmosphere  of  good- will  and  kindness. 

The  home  has  a  story  of  its  own,  as  has  the  family.  In 
primitive  days  there  was  little  necessity  of  a  dwelling-place, 
except  as  a  nest  for  young  or  a  cache  for  provisions.  A 
cave  or  a  rough  shelter  of  boughs  was  a  makeshift  for  a 
home.  Thither  the  hunter  brought  the  game  that  he  had 
killed,  and  there  slept  the  glutton's  sleep  or  went  supperless 
to  bed.  When  the  hunter  became  a  herdsman  and  shep- 
herd and  moved  from  place  to  place  in  search  of  pasture, 
he  found  it  convenient  to  fashion  a  tent  for  his  home,  as 
the  Hebrew  patriarchs  did  when  they  roamed  over  Canaan 
and  as  the  Bedouin  of  the  desert  does  still. 

A  settled  life  with  a  measure  of  civilization  demanded  a 
better  and  a  stationary  home,  the  degree  of  comfort  vary- 
ing with  the  desire  and  ambition  of  the  householder  and 
the  amount  of  his  wealth.  To  thousands  home  was  little 
more  than  a  place  to  sleep.  Even  in  imperial  Rome  the 
proletariat  occupied  tall,  ramshackle  tenements,  like  the 
submerged  poor  who  exist  in  the  slums  of  modern  cities. 
In  mediaeval  Europe  the  peasant  lived  in  a  one-room  hovel, 
clustered  with  others  in  a  squalid  hamlet  upon  the  estate 
of  a  great  landowner.  The  hut  was  poorly  built,  often  of 
no  better  material  than  wattled  sticks,  cemented  with  mud, 
covered  over  with  turf  or  thatch,  usually  without  chimneys 
or  even  windows.  The  place  was  absolutely  without  con- 
veniences. Summer  and  winter  the  family  huddled  to- 

37 


38         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

gether  in  the  single  room  of  the  hut,  faring  forth  to  work  in 
the  morning,  sleeping  at  night  on  bundles  of  straw,  each 
person  in  the  single  garment  that  he  wore  through  the  day, 
and  at  convenient  intervals  breaking  fast  on  black  bread, 
salt  meat,  and  home-brewed  beer.  There  was  no  induce- 
ment for  a  landless  serf  to  spend  care  or  labor  upon  houses 
or  surroundings ;  pigs  and  babies  were  permitted  to  tumble 
about  both  indiscriminately. 

Peasant  homes  in  the  Orient  are  little  if  any  better  now 
than  European  homes  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  houses  are 
rude  structures  and  ill-kept.  In  the  villages  of  India  it  is 
not  unusual  to  occupy  one  house  until  it  becomes  so  unsani- 
tary as  to  be  uninhabitable,  and  then  to  move  elsewhere. 
Even  royal  courts  in  mediaeval  Europe  moved  from  palace 
to  palace  for  the  same  reason.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  the  squalid  conditions  found  in  the  slums  are  peculiar 
to  them;  they  are  survivals  of  a  lower  stage  of  human  exis- 
tence found  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  due  to  psychical,  social, 
and  economic  conditions  that  are  not  easily  changed,  but 
conspicuous  in  the  midst  of  modern  progress. 

43.  The  Ancestral  Type. — In  ancient  Egypt,  Greece, 
and  Rome  only  the  higher  classes  enjoyed  any  degree  of 
comfort.  Accustomed  to  inconveniences,  few  even  among 
them  knew  such  luxuries  as  are  common  to  middle-class 
Americans.  The  castle  and  manor-house  of  the  mediaeval 
lord  were  still  more  comfortless.  In  America  the  colonial 
log  cabin  and  the  sod  house  of  the  prairie  pioneer  were 
primitively  incomplete.  The  struggle  for  existence  and  the 
difficulty  of  manufacture  and  transportation  allowed  few 
comforts.  American  homes,  even  a  hundred  years  ago, 
knew  nothing  of  furnaces  and  safety-matches,  refrigerators 
and  electric  fans,  bathtubs  and  sanitary  accommodations, 
carpet-sweepers  and  vacuum  cleaners,  screen  doors  and 
double  windows,  hammocks  and  verandas.  Neither  law  nor 
social  custom  required  a  good  water  or  drainage  system. 
A  healthful  or  attractive  location  for  the  house  received 
little  thought;  outbuildings  were  in  close  proximity  to  the 
house,  if  not  attached  to  it.  The  furnishings  of  the  house 
lacked  comfort  and  beauty.  Interior  decorations  of  har- 


The  Making  of  the  Home  39 

monious  design  were  absent.  Instruments  of  music  were 
rare;  statuary  and  paintings  were  beyond  the  reach  of  any 
but  the  richest  purse. 

44.  Social  Values. — On  the  other  hand,  there  was  in 
many  a  dwelling  a  home  atmosphere  that  made  up  for  the 
lack  of  conveniences.     There  was  a  bond  of  unity  that  was 
felt  by  every  member  of  the  family,  and  a  spirit  of  mutual 
affection  and  self-sacrifice  that  stood  a  hard  strain  through 
poverty,  sickness,  and  ill  fortune  of  every  sort.     Father 
and  mother,  boys  and  girls  were  not  afraid  to  work,  and 
when  the  time  came  for  relaxation  there  was  little  to  attract 
away  from  the  home  circle.     People  had  less  to  enjoy,  but 
they  were  better  contented  with  what  they  had.     They  had 
little  money  to  spend,  but  their  frugal  tastes  and  habits  of 
thrift  fortified  them  against  want,  and  there  was  little  need 
of  public  or  private  charity. 

The  home  was  frequently  a  school  of  moral  and  religious 
education.  Selfishness  in  all  its  forms  was  discountenanced. 
There  was  no  room  for  the  idler,  no  time  for  laziness. 
Social  hygiene  and  domestic  science  were  not  taught  as 
such,  but  young  people  learned  their  responsibilities  and 
grew  up  equipped  to  establish  homes  of  their  own.  Parents 
were  faithful  instructors  in  the  homely  virtues  of  truthful- 
ness, honesty,  faithfulness,  kindness,  and  love.  Religion 
in  the  family  was  by  no  means  universal,  but  in  hundreds 
of  homes  religion  was  recognized  as  having  legitimate  de- 
mands upon  the  individual;  religious  exercises  were  ob- 
served at  the  mother's  knee,  the  table,  and  the  family  altar; 
all  the  family  attended  church  together,  and  were  expected 
to  take  upon  themselves  the  responsibilities  of  church 
membership. 

45.  Gains  and  Losses. — In  the  making  of  a  modern 
home  there  have  been  both  addition  and  subtraction.    Life 
has  gained  immeasurably  in  comfort  and  convenience  for 
the  well-to-do,  but  the  comfortless  quarters  of  the  poor 
drive  the  man  to  the  saloon  and  the  child  to  the  streets. 
For  the  fortunate  the  home  has  become  enriched  with 
music,  art,  and  literature,  but  it  has  lost  much  of  the 
earlier  simplicity,  economic  thrift,  moral    sturdiness,  and 


40          Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

religious  principle  and  practice.  For  the  poor  life  is  so 
hard  that  the  good  qualities,  if  they  ever  existed,  have 
tended  to  disappear  without  any  compensation  in  culture. 

It  is  well  understood  that  the  home  environment  has 
most  to  do  with  shaping  individual  character.  If  the 
homely  virtues  are  not  cultivated  there,  society  will  suffer; 
if  cold  and  cheerlessness  are  characteristic  of  its  atmosphere, 
there  will  be  little  warmth  in  the  disposition  of  its  inmates 
toward  society.  Every  home  of  the  right  sort  is  an  asset 
to  the  community.  It  is  an  experiment  station  for  social 
progress.  Every  married  couple  that  sets  up  housekeeping 
starts  a  new  centre  of  group  life.  If  they  diffuse  a  helpful 
atmosphere  social  virtues  will  develop  and  social  efficiency 
increase.  On  the  other  hand,  many  homes  are  a  menace 
to  the  community,  because  an  ill-mated  pair,  poorly 
equipped  for  the  struggle  of  existence,  create  a  centre  of 
group  life  in  which  the  individual  is  handicapped  physically 
and  morally  and  too  often  becomes  a  curse  to  society  at 
large.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  home  is  at  the 
same  time  the  power-house  that  generates  the  forces  that 
push  society  forward,  and  the  channel  through  which  are 
transmitted  the  ideas  and  achievements  of  all  the  past,  it 
will  seem  to  be  the  supremely  important  institution  that 
human  experience  has  devised  and  sanctioned. 

46.  The  Ideal  Home. — The  ideal  home  toward  which 
the  average  home  will  be  gradually  approximating  will  be 
housed  in  a  well-built  dwelling  of  approved  architecture; 
erected  in  a  healthy  location  with  room  enough  around  it 
to  give  air  space,  and  a  bit  of  out-of-doors  to  enjoy;  taste- 
fully furnished  and  decorated  inside,  but  without  ostenta- 
tion or  extravagance;  occupied  by  a  healthy,  happy  family 
of  parents  and  children  who  care  more  for  each  other  and 
for  their  neighbors  than  for  selfish  pleasure  and  display, 
and  who  are  learning  how  to  play  a  worthy  part  in  the 
folk  life  of  their  community  and  nation,  and  how  to  appre- 
ciate the  highest  and  finest  qualities  that  mind  and  spirit 
can  develop  in  themselves  or  others.  If  for  economic  or 
social  reasons  any  of  this  is  impossible,  there  is  a  weakness 
in  society  that  calls  for  prompt  repair. 


The  Making  of  the  Home  41 


READING  REFERENCES 

STARR:  First  Steps  in  Human  Progress,  pages  149-158. 
JESSOPP:  The  Coming  of  the  Friars,  pages  87-104. 
GILLETTE:  Constructive  Rural  Sociology,  pages  170-178. 
CARNEY:  Country  Life  and  the  Country  School,  pages  18-38. 
RICHARDS:  "The  Farm  Home,"  art.  in  Cyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  IV, 
pages  280-284. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CHILDREN   IN  THE  HOME 

47.  Children  Complete  the  Home. — If  the  legend  of  the 
Pied  Piper  of  Hameln  should  come  true  and  all  the  children 
should  run  away  from  home,  or  if  by  some  strange  stroke 
of  fortune  no  children  should  be  born  in  a  village  or  town 
for  ten  years  or  more,  the  tragedy  of  the  childless  home 
would  be  realized.     There  are  localities  and  even  nations 
where  the  birth-rate  is  so  small  that  population  is  little 
more  than  stationary.     In  the  United  States  the  native 
birth-rate  tends  to  decline,   while  the  rate  of  immigrant 
foreigners  greatly  exceeds  it.     The  higher  the  degree  of 
comfort  and  luxury  in  the  home  the  smaller  the  birth-rate 
seems  to  be  a  principle  of  social  experience.     There  are 
selfish  people  who  shirk  the  responsibilities  and  troubles 
of  parenthood,  and  there  are  social  diseases  that  tend  to 
sterility,  but  the  childless  home  is  always  an  incomplete 
home.     Children  are  the  crown  of  marriage,  the  enrich- 
ment of  the  home,  the  hope  of  society  in  the  future.     The 
needs  of  the  children  stimulate  parents  to  unselfish  en- 
deavor.    Children  are  the  comfort  of  the  poor  and  dis- 
tressed.    The  wedded  life  of  a  human  pair  may  be  ideal  in 
every  other  respect,  but  one  of  the  main  functions  of 
marriage  is  unaccomplished  when  the  family  remains  in- 
complete. 

48.  The  Right  to  be  Weil-Born.— The  child  comes  into 
the  home  in  obedience  to  the  same  primary  instinct  that 
draws  the  parents  to  each  other.     He  calls  out  the  affections 
of  the  parents  and  their  intellectual  resources,  for  he  is 
dependent  upon  them,  and  often  taxes  their  best  judgment 
in  coping  with  the  difficulties  that  beset  child  life.     But 
they  often  fail  to  realize  that  the  child  has  certain  inalien- 
able rights  as  an  individual  and  a  potential  member  of 
society  that  demand  their  best  gifts. 

42 


Children  in  the  Home  43 

There  is  first  the  right  to  be  well-born.  There  is  so  much 
to  contend  with  when  once  ushered  into  the  world,  that  a 
child  needs  the  best  possible  bodily  inheritance.  He  needs 
to  be  rid  of  every  encumbrance  of  physical  unfitness  if  he 
is  to  live  long  and  become  a  blessing  and  not  a  burden  to 
society.  Handicapped  at  the  start,  he  cannot  hope  to 
achieve  a  high  level  of  attainment.  It  is  little  short  of 
criminal  for  a  child  to  be  condemned  to  lifelong  weakness 
or  suffering,  because  his  parents  were  not  fit  to  give  him 
birth.  Yet  large  numbers  of  parents  make  the  thought  of 
child  welfare  subordinate  to  their  own  desires.  A  man's 
primary  concern  in  choosing  a  wife  is  his  own  personal 
satisfaction,  not  the  birth  and  mothering  of  his  children. 
Many  young  women  regard  the  attractiveness,  social  posi- 
tion, or  wealth  of  a  young  man  as  of  greater  consequence 
than  his  physical  or  moral  fitness  to  become  the  father  of 
her  children.  There  are  thousands  of  persons  who  are 
mentally  deficient  or  unmoral,  who  nevertheless  are  unre- 
strained by  society  from  association  and  even  marriage. 
It  is  a  social  misfortune  that  the  unfit  should  be  taken 
care  of  by  the  tender  mercies  of  philanthropists  and  even 
permitted  to  propagate  their  kind,  while  no  special  encour- 
agement is  given  to  those  who  are  supremely  fit  to  give 
their  best  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  race.  The  principle  of 
brotherly  kindness  requires  that  the  weak  and  unfortunate 
be  taken  care  of,  but  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  in- 
crease. It  is  a  principle  of  social  welfare  that  those  who 
are  incapable  of  exercising  self-control  should  be  placed 
under  the  control  of  the  larger  group. 

49.  Eugenics  in  Legislation. — It  is  the  conviction  that 
the  right  to  be  well-born  is  a  valid  one,  that  has  given  rise 
to  the  science  of  eugenics.  As  a  science  it  was  first  dis- 
cussed by  Francis  Galton,  and  it  has  interested  writers, 
investigators,  and  legislators  in  all  progressive  countries. 
Various  specific  proposals  have  been  made  in  the  interest 
of  posterity,  and  agitation  has  resulted  in  certain  experi- 
ments in  legislation.  It  is  not  proposed  that  any  should  be 
required  to  marry,  but  it  is  thought  possible  to  encourage 
the  well  qualified  and  to  discourage  and  restrain  the  in- 


44         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

capable.  Some  of  these  proposals,  such  as  the  offering  of 
a  premium  by  the  State  for  healthy  children,  or  endowing 
mothers  as  public  functionaries,  are  not  widely  approved, 
but  Great  Britain  in  a  National  Insurance  Act  in  1911 
included  the  provision  of  maternity  benefits  in  recognition 
of  the  mother's  contribution  to  the  citizenship  of  the 
nation.  Restrictive  laws  have  been  passed  by  certain  of 
the  States  in  America,  which  are  eugenic  experiments. 
Feeble-mindedness,  in  so  many  ways  a  social  evil,  is  readily 
reproduced,  and  the  weak-minded  are  easily  controlled  by 
the  sex  instinct.  To  prevent  this  certain  State  legislatures 
have  forbidden  the  marriage  of  any  feeble-minded  or  epi- 
leptic woman  under  the  age  of  forty-five.  It  is  well  known 
that  insanity  is  a  family  trait,  and  that  criminal  insanity  is 
liable  to  recur  if  those  who  are  afflicted  are  permitted  to 
indulge  in  parenthood.  Certain  States  accordingly  annul 
the  marriage  of  insane  persons.  Venereal  disease  is  easily 
transmitted;  there  has  been  a  beginning  of  legislation  pro- 
hibiting persons  thus  tainted  to  marry.  It  is  well  estab- 
lished that  very  many  persons,  while  not  actually  tainted 
with  such  diseases  as  tuberculosis  and  alcoholism,  are  pre- 
disposed to  yield  to  their  attack.  For  this  reason  the  scope 
of  eugenic  legislation  is  likely  to  be  extended.  Some  States 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  sterilize  the  unfit,  that  they  may  not 
by  any  chance  exercise  the  powers  of  parenthood;  it  is 
urged  in  many  quarters  that  clergymen  require  a  medical 
certificate  of  good  health  before  sanctioning  marriage. 

50.  Family  -Degeneracy. — Several  impressive  illustra- 
tions have  been  published  of  degenerate  families  that  show 
the  far-reaching  effects  of  heredity.  In  contrast  to  these 
pictures,  has  been  set  the  life  story  of  families  who  have 
won  renown  in  successive  generations  because  of  unusual 
ability.  Nothing  so  effective  is  presented  by  any  argument 
as  that  of  concrete  cases.  Perhaps  the  best  known  of  these 
stories  is  that  of  the  Jukes  family.  About  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  a  normal  man  with  a  coarse,  lazy 
vein  in  his  nature  built  himself  a  hut  in  the  woods  of  cen- 
tral New  York.  In  five  generations  he  had  several  hun- 
dred descendants.  A  study  of  twelve  hundred  persons 


Children  in  the  Home  45 

who  belonged  to  the  family  by  kinship  or  marriage  was 
made  carefully,  with  the  following  findings.  Nearly  all  of 
the  family  were  lazy,  ignorant,  and  coarse.  Four  hundred 
were  physically  diseased  by  their  own  fault.  Two  hundred 
were  criminals;  seven  of  them  murderers.  Fifty  of  the 
women  were  notoriously  immoral.  Three  hundred  of  the 
children  died  from  inherited  weakness  or  neglect.  More 
than  three  hundred  members  of  the  family  were  chronic 
paupers.  It  is  estimated  that  they  cost  the  State  a  thou- 
sand dollars  apiece  for  pauperism  and  crime. 

Another  family  called  the  Kallikak  family,  which  has 
been  made  the  subject  of  investigation,  is  a  still  better 
example  of  heredity.  The  family  was  descended  from  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  who  had  an  illegitimate  feeble- 
minded son  by  an  imbecile  young  woman.  The  line  con- 
tinued by  feeble-minded  descent  and  marriage  until  four 
hundred  and  eighty  descendants  have  been  traced.  Of 
these  one  hundred  and  forty-three  were  positively  defec- 
tive, thirty-six  were  illegitimate,  thirty-three  sexually 
immoral,  mostly  prostitutes,  eight  kept  houses  of  ill  repute, 
three  were  criminal,  twenty-four  were  confirmed  drunkards, 
and  eighty-two  died  in  infancy. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  striking  examples  of  what 
good  birth  and  breeding  can  do.  It  happened  that  the 
ancestor  of  the  Kallikak  family,  after  he  had  sown  his 
wild  oats,  married  well  and  had  about  five  hundred  descen- 
dants. All  of  them  were  normal,  only  two  were  alcoholic, 
and  one  sexually  loose.  The  family  has  been  prominent 
socially  and  in  every  way  creditable  in  its  history.  In  con- 
trast to  the  Jukes  family,  the  history  of  the  Edwards  family 
has  been  written.  Its  members  married  well,  were  well- 
bred,  and  gave  much  attention  to  education.  Out  of  four- 
teen hundred  individuals  more  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  were  Yale  graduates,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  more  completed  their  education  at  other  colleges;  thir- 
teen were  college  presidents,  and  more  than  a  hundred 
college  professors;  they  were  founders  of  schools  of  all 
grades;  more  than  one  hundred  were  clergymen,  mission- 
aries, and  theological  professors;  seventy-five  were  officers 


46         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

in  the  army  and  navy;  more  than  eighty  have  been  elected 
to  public  office ;  more  than  one  hundred  were  lawyers,  thirty 
judges,  sixty  physicians,  and  sixty  prominent  in  literature. 
Not  a  few  of  them  have  been  active  in  philanthropy,  and 
many  have  been  successful  in  business.  It  is  impossible  to 
escape  from  the  conviction  that  whatever  may  be  the 
physical  and  social  environment,  heredity  perpetuates 
physical  and  mental  worth  or  defectiveness  and  tends  to 
produce  social  good  or  evil,  and  that  the  right  to  a  worthy 
parentage  belongs  with  the  other  rights  to  which  individuals 
lay  claim.  It  is  as  important  as  the  right  to  a  living,  to  an 
education,  to  a  good  home,  or  to  the  franchise.  Without  it 
society  is  incalculably  poorer  and  the  ultimate  effects  of 
failure  are  startling  to  consider. 

51.  Marriage  and  Education. — Some  enthusiasts  have 
demanded  that  to  make  sure  of  a  good  bodily  inheritance, 
individuals  be  permitted  to  produce  children  without  the 
trammels  of  marriage  if  they  are  well  fitted  for  parent- 
hood, but  such  persons  seem  ignorant  or  forgetful  that  free 
love  has  never  proved  otherwise  than  disastrous  in  the 
history  of  the  race,  and  that  physical  perfection  is  not  the 
sole  good  with  which  the  child  needs  to  be  endowed,  but 
that  it  must  be  supplemented  with  moral,  mental,  and 
spiritual  endowment,  and  with  the  permanent  affection  and 
care  of  both  parents  in  the  home.  Gal  ton  himself  acknowl- 
edges marriage  as  a  prerequisite  in  eugenics  by  saying: 
"Marriage,  as  now  sanctified  by  religion  and  safeguarded 
by  law  in  the  more  highly  civilized  nations,  may  not  be 
ideally  perfect,  nor  may  it  be  universally  accepted  in  future 
times,  but  it  is  the  best  that  has  hitherto  been  devised  for 
the  parties  primarily  concerned,  for  their  children,  for  home 
life,  and  for  society." 

The  greatest  hope  of  eugenics  lies  in  social  education. 
Sex  hygiene  must  in  some  way  become  a  part  of  the  child's 
stock  of  information,  but  knowledge  alone  does  not  fortify 
action.  More  important  is  it  to  deal  with  the  springs  of 
action,  to  teach  the  equal  standard  of  purity  for  men  and 
women,  and  the  moral  responsibility  of  parenthood  to 
adolescent  youth,  and  at  the  same  time  to  impress  upon 


Children  in  the  Home  47 

the  whole  community  its  responsibility  of  oversight  of 
morals  for  the  good  of  the  next  generation.  Conviction  of 
personal  and  social  responsibility  as  superior  to  individual 
preferences  is  the  only  safety  of  society  in  all  its  relations, 
from  eugenics  through  economics  to  ethics  and  religion. 

52.  Euthenics. — Euthenics  is  the  science  of  controlled 
environment,  as  eugenics  is  the  science  of  controlled  hered- 
ity. The  health  and  good  fortune  of  the  child  depend  on 
his  surroundings  as  well  as  on  his  inheritance,  and  the  gift 
of  a  perfect  physique  may  be  vitiated  by  an  unwholesome 
environment.  Environment  acts  directly  upon  the  phys- 
ical system  of  the  individual  through  climate,  home  con- 
ditions, and  occupation;  it  acts  indirectly  by  affecting 
the  personal  desires,  idiosyncrasies,  and  possible  conduct. 
When  the  child  of  an  early  settler  was  carried  away  from 
home  on  an  Indian  raid,  and  brought  up  in  the  wigwam 
of  the  savage,  he  forgot  his  civilized  heritage,  and  love  for 
his  foster-parents  sometimes  proved  stronger  than  his  nat- 
ural affections.  The  child  of  the  Russian  Jew  in  Europe 
has  little  ambition  and  rises  to  no  high  level,  but  in  Amer- 
ica he  gains  distinction  in  school  and  success  in  business. 
A  natural  environment  of  forest  or  plain  may  determine 
the  occupation  of  a  whole  community;  a  fickle  climate 
vitally  affects  its  prosperity.  Whole  races  have  entered 
upon  a  new  future  by  migration. 

It  is  necessary  to  be  cautious  and  not  to  ascribe  to  en- 
vironment, as  some  do,  the  sole  influence.  Every  indi- 
vidual is  the  creature  of  heredity  plus  environment  plus 
his  own  will.  But  it  is  not  possible  to  overlook  environ- 
ment as  some  do,  and  expect  by  a  miracle  to  make  or  pre- 
serve character  in  the  midst  of  conditions  of  spiritual 
asphyxiation.  If  social  life  is  to  be  pure  and  strong,  com- 
munities and  families,  through  the  official  care  of  overseers 
of  health  and  industry  and  through  the  loving  care  of 
parents  in  the  homes,  must  see  that  children  grow  up  with 
the  advantages  of  nourishing  food,  pure  air,  proper  cloth- 
ing, and  means  for  cleanliness;  that  at  the  proper  age  they 
be  given  mental  and  moral  instruction  and  fitted  for  a 
worthy  vocation;  that  wholesome  social  relations  be  estab- 


48         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

lished  by  means  of  playgrounds,  clubs,  and  societies;  that 
industrial  conditions  be  properly  supervised,  and  young 
people  be  able  to  earn  not  alone  a  living  but  a  marriageable 
wage;  and  that  some  means  of  social  insurance  be  provided 
sufficient  to  prevent  suffering  and  want  in  sickness  and  old 
age.  In  such  an  environment  there  is  opportunity  to 
realize  the  value  that  will  accrue  from  a  good  inheritance, 
and  there  is  incentive  to  make  the  most  of  life's  possibilities 
as  they  come  and  go. 

Ever  since  the  importance  of  environment  was  made 
plain  in  the  nineteenth  century,  social  physicians  have 
been  trying  all  sorts  of  experiments  in  community  thera- 
peutics. Many  of  the  remedies  will  be  discussed  in  various 
connections.  It  is  enough  to  remark  here  that  social  edu- 
cation, social  regulation,  and  social  idealism  are  all  neces- 
sary, and  that  a  social  Utopia  cannot  be  obtained  in  a  day. 

53.  The  Right  to  Proper  Care. — Granted  the  right  of 
the  child  to  be  well-born  and  the  right  to  a  favorable 
environment,  there  follows  the  right  to  be  taken  care  of. 
This  may  be  involved  in  the  subject  of  a  proper  environ- 
ment, but  it  deserves  consideration  by  itself.  There  is 
more  danger  to  the  race  from  neglect  than  from  race  suicide. 
It  is  better  that  a  child  should  not  be  born  at  all,  than  that 
he  should  be  condemned  to  the  hard  knocks  of  a  loveless 
home  or  a  callous  neighborhood.  There  is  first  the  case 
of  the  child  born  out  of  wedlock,  often  a  foundling  with 
parentage  unacknowledged.  Then  there  is  the  child  who 
is  legitimately  born  as  far  as  the  law  is  concerned,  but 
whose  parents  had  no  legitimate  right  to  bring  him  into 
the  world,  because  they  had  no  reasonable  expectation  that 
they  could  provide  properly  for  his  wants.  The  wretched 
pauper  recks  nothing  of  the  future  of  his  offspring.  Since 
the  family  group  can  never  remain  independent  of  the 
community,  it  may  well  be  debated  whether  society  is  not 
under  obligation  to  interfere  and  either  by  prohibition  of 
excessive  parenthood  or  by  social  provision  for  the  care 
of  such  children,  to  secure  to  the  young  this  right  of  proper 
care. 

Cruelty  is  a  twin  evil  of  neglect.     The  history  of  child- 


Children  in  the  Home  49 

hood  deserves  careful  study  side  by  side  with  the  history 
of  womanhood.  In  primitive  times  not  even  the  right  to 
existence  was  recognized.  Abortion  and  infanticide,  espe- 
cially in  the  case  of  females,  were  practices  used  at  will  to 
dispose  of  unwelcome  children,  and  these  practices  per- 
sisted among  the  backward  peoples  of  Asia  and  Africa, 
until  they  were  compelled  to  recognize  the  law  of  the  white 
master  when  he  extended  his  dominion  over  them.  In  the 
patriarchal  household  of  classic  lands,  the  child  was  under 
the  absolute  control  of  his  father.  Religious  regulations 
might  demand  that  he  be  instructed  in  the  history  and 
obligations  of  the  race,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Hebrew  child, 
or  the  interests  of  the  state  might  require  physical  training 
for  its  own  defense,  as  in  the  case  of  Sparta,  but  there  was 
no  consideration  of  child  rights  in  the  home.  Until  the 
eighteenth  century  European  children  shared  the  hardships 
of  poverty  and  discomfort  common  to  the  age,  and  often 
the  cruelty  of  brutal  and  degraded  parents;  they  were  often 
condemned  to  long  hours  of  industry  in  factories  after  the 
new  industrial  order  caught  them  in  its  toils.  In  the  mine 
and  the  mill  and  on  the  farm  children  have  been  bound 
down  to  labor  for  long  and  weary  hours,  until  modern 
legislation  has  interfered. 

There  are  a  number  of  reasons  why  child  labor  has  been 
common.  Hereditary  custom  has  decreed  it.  Children 
have  been  looked  upon  by  many  races  as  a  care  and  a  bur- 
den rather  than  a  responsibility  and  a  blessing.  Their 
economic  value  was  their  one  claim  to  be  regarded  as  a 
family  asset.  Even  the  religious  teaching  of  Jews  and 
Christians  about  the  value  and  responsibility  of  children 
has  not  been  influential  enough  to  compel  a  recognition  of 
their  worth,  though  their  innocence  and  purity,  their  faith 
and  optimism  are  qualities  indispensable  to  the  race  of 
mankind  if  social  relations  are  to  approach  the  ideal. 

54.  The  Value  of  Work. — Labor  is  a  social  blessing 
rather  than  a  curse.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  habits  of 
industry  are  desirable  for  the  child  as  well  as  for  the  adult. 
Idleness  is  the  forerunner  of  ignorance,  laziness,  and  general 
incapacity.  It  is  no  kindness  to  a  child  to  permit  him  to 


50         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

spend  all  his  time  out  of  school  in  play.  It  gives  him  skill, 
a  new  respect  for  labor,  and  a  new  conception  of  the  value 
of  money,  if  he  has  a  paper  route,  mows  a  lawn,  shovels 
snow,  or  hoes  potatoes.  Especially  is  it  desirable  that  a 
boy  should  have  some  sort  of  an  occupation  for  a  few  hours 
a  day  during  the  long  summer  vacation.  The  child  on  the 
farm  has  no  lack  of  opportunity,  but  for  the  boy  of  the 
city  streets  there  is  little  that  is  practicable,  outside  of 
selling  papers  or  serving  as  messenger  boy  or  bootblack; 
for  the  girl  there  is  little  but  housework  or  department- 
store  service.  Both  need  steady  employment  out  of  doors, 
and  he  who  devises  a  method  by  which  boys  and  girls  can 
be  taught  such  an  occupation  as  gardening  on  vacant  lots 
or  in  the  city  outskirts,  and  at  the  same  time  can  be  given 
a  love  for  work  and  for  the  growing  things  of  the  country, 
will  help  to  solve  the  problem  of  child  labor  and,  inciden- 
tally, may  contribute  to  the  solution  of  poverty,  incipient 
crime,  and  even  of  the  rural  problem  and  the  high  cost  of 
living. 

READING  REFERENCES 

BOSANQUET:  The  Family,  pages  299-314. 

GODDARD:  The  Kdlikak  Family. 

EAMES:  Principles  of  Eugenics. 

SALEEBY:  Parenthood  and  Race  Culture,  pages  213-236. 

McKEEVER:  Farm  Boys  and  Girls,  pages  171-196. 

GALTON:  Inquiries  into  Human  Faculty. 


CHAPTER  VII 
WORK,  PLAY,  AND  EDUCATION 

55.  Child  Labor  and  Its  Effects. — Excessive  child  labor 
away  from  home  is  one  of  the  evils  that  has  called  for 
reform  more  than  the  lack  of  employment.  The  child  has 
a  right  to  the  home  life.  It  is  injurious  for  him  to  be 
kept  at  a  monotonous  task  under  physical  or  mental  strain 
for  long  hours  in  a  manufacturing  establishment,  or  to  be 
deprived  of  time  to  study  and  to  play.  Yet  there  are 
nearly  two  million  children  in  the  United  States  under  six- 
teen years  of  age  who  are  denied  the  rights  of  childhood 
through  excessive  labor. 

This  evil  began  with  the  adoption  of  the  factory  system 
in  modern  industry.  The  introduction  of  light  machinery 
into  the  textile  mills  of  England  made  it  possible  to  employ 
children  at  low  wages,  and  it  was  profitable  for  the  keepers 
of  almshouses  to  apprentice  pauper  children  to  the  manu- 
facturers. Some  of  them  were  not  more  than  five  or  six 
years  old,  but  were  kept  in  bondage  more  than  twelve 
hours  a  day.  Children  were  compelled  to  hard  labor  in  the 
coal-mines,  and  to  the  dirty  work  of  chimney  sweeping. 
In  the  United  States  factory  labor  for  children  did  not 
begin  so  soon,  but  by  1880  children  eight  years  old  were 
being  employed  in  Massachusetts  for  more  than  twelve 
hours  a  day,  and  in  parts  of  the  country  children  are  still 
employed  at  long  hours  in  such  occupations  as  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton,  glass,  silk,  and  candy,  in  coal-mines  and 
canning  factories.  Besides  these  are  the  newsboys,  boot- 
blacks, and  messengers  of  the  cities,  children  in  domestic 
and  personal  service,  and  the  child  laborers  on  the  farms. 

The  causes  of  child  labor  lie  in  the  poverty  and  greed 
of  parents,  the  demands  of  employers,  and  often  the  desire 
of  the  children  to  escape  from  school  and  earn  money. 
In  spite  of  agitation  and  legislation,  the  indifference  of  the 

51 


52         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

public  permits  it  to  continue  and  in  some  sections  to 
increase. 

The  harmful  effects  of  child  employment  are  numerous. 
It  is  true  that  two-thirds  of  the  boys  and  nearly  one-half 
of  the  girls  employed  in  the  United  States  are  occupied 
with  agriculture,  most  of  them  with  their  own  parents,  an 
occupation  that  is  much  healthier  than  indoor  labor,  yet 
agriculture  demands  long  hours  and  wearisome  toil.  In 
the  cities  there  is  much  night-work  and  employment  in 
dangerous  or  unhealthy  occupations.  The  sweating  sys- 
tem has  carried  its  bad  effects  into  the  homes  of  the  very 
poor,  for  the  younger  members  of  the  family  can  help  to 
manufacture  clothing,  paper  boxes,  embroidery,  and  arti- 
ficial flowers,  and  in  spite  of  the  law,  such  labor  goes  on  far 
into  the  night  in  congested,  ill- ventilated  tenements.  Chil- 
dren cannot  work  in  this  way  day  after  day  for  long  hours 
without  serious  physical  deterioration.  Some  of  them  drop 
by  the  way  and  die  as  victims  of  an  economic  system  and 
the  social  neglect  that  permits  it.  Others  lose  the  oppor- 
tunity of  an  education,  and  so  are  mentally  less  trained 
than  the  normal  American  child,  and  ultimately  prove  less 
efficient  as  industrial  units.  For  the  time  they  may  add 
to  the  family  income,  but  they  react  upon  adult  labor  by 
lowering  the  wage  of  the  head  of  the  family,  and  they  make 
it  impossible  for  the  child  when  grown  to  earn  a  high  wage, 
because  of  inefficiency.  The  associations  and  influences 
of  the  street  are  morally  degrading,  and  in  the  associations 
of  the  workroom  and  the  factory  yard  the  whole  tone  of 
the  life  of  individuals  is  frequently  lowered. 

56.  Child-Labor  Legislation. — Friends  of  the  children 
have  tried  to  stop  abuses.  Trade-unions,  consumers' 
leagues,  and  State  bureaus  have  taken  the  initiative. 
Voluntary  organizations,  like  the  National  Child  Labor 
Committee,  make  the  regulation  of  child  labor  their  special 
object.  They  have  succeeded  in  the  establishment  of  a 
Federal  Children's  Bureau  in  Washington,  and  have  en- 
couraged State  and  national  legislation.  Most  of  the 
States  forbid  the  employment  of  children  under  a  certain 
age,  usually  twelve  or  fourteen  years,  and  require  attention 


Work,  Play,  and  Education  53 

to  healthful  conditions  and  moderate  hours.  They  insist 
also  that  children  shall  not  be  deprived  of  education,  but 
there  is  often  inadequate  provision  made  for  inspection 
and  proper  enforcement  of  laws. 

The  friends  of  the  children  are  desirous  of  a  uniform 
child-labor  law  which,  if  adopted  and  enforced  by  competent 
inspectors,  would  prevent  factory  work  for  all  under  four- 
teen years  of  age,  and  for  weak  children  under  sixteen  would 
prescribe  a  limited  number  of  hours  and  allow  no  night- 
work,  would  require  certain  certificates  of  age  and  health 
before  employment  is  given,  and  would  compel  school 
attendance  and  the  attainment  of  a  limited  education 
before  permission  is  granted  to  go  into  the  factory.  With- 
out doubt,  it  is  a  hardship  to  families  in  poverty  that 
strong,  growing  children  should  not  be  permitted  to  go 
to  work  and  help  support  those  in  need,  but  it  is  better  for 
the  social  body  to  take  care  of  its  weak  members  in  some 
other  way,  and  for  its  own  sake,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of 
the  child,  to  make  sure  that  he  is  physically  and  mentally 
equipped  before  he  takes  a  regular  place  in  the  ranks  of 
the  wage-earners. 

57.  The  Right  to  Play. — The  play  group  is  the  first 
social  training-ground  for  the  child  outside  of  the  home, 
and  it  continues  to  be  a  desirable  form  of  association,  even 
into  adult  life,  but  it  is  only  in  recent  years  that  adults 
have  recognized  the  legitimacy  of  such  a  claim  as  the  right 
to  play.  It  was  thought  desirable  that  a  boy  should  work 
off  his  restlessness,  but  the  wood-pile  provided  the  usual 
safety-valve  for  surplus  energy.  Play  was  a  waste  of  time. 
Now  it  is  more  clearly  understood  that  play  has  a  distinct 
value.  It  is  physically  beneficial,  expanding  the  lungs, 
strengthening  muscle  and  nerve,  and  giving  poise  and 
elasticity  to  the  whole  body.  It  is  mentally  educational 
in  developing  qualities  of  quickness,  skill,  and  leadership. 
It  is  socially  valuable,  for  it  requires  honesty,  fair  play, 
mutual  consideration,  and  self-control.  Co-operation  of 
effort  is  developed  as  well  in  team-play  as  in  team-work, 
and  the  child  becomes  accustomed  to  act  with  thought  of 
the  group.  The  play  group  is  a  temporary  form  of  associa- 


54         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

tion,  varying  in  size  and  content  as  the  whim  of  the  child 
or  the  attraction  of  the  moment  moves  its  members.  It  is 
an  example  of  primitive  groupings  swayed  by  instinctive 
impulses.  Children  turn  quickly  from  one  game  to  another, 
but  for  the  time  are  absorbed  in  the  particular  play  that  is 
going  on.  No  achievement  results  from  the  activity,  no 
organization  from  the  association.  The  rapid  shifting  of 
the  scenes  and  the  frequent  disputes  that  arise  indicate 
lack  of  control.  Yet  it  is  out  of  such  association  that  the 
social  mind  develops  and  organized  action  becomes  possible. 

If  these  are  the  advantages  of  play,  the  right  to  play 
may  properly  demand  an  opportunity  for  games  and  sports 
in  the  home  and  the  yard,  and  the  necessary  equipment  of 
gymnasium  and  field.  It  may  call  for  freedom  from  the 
school  and  home  occupations  sufficient  to  give  the  recrea- 
tive impulse  due  scope.  As  its  importance  becomes  uni- 
versally recognized,  there  will  be  no  neighborhood,  how- 
ever congested,  that  lacks  its  playground  for  the  children, 
and  no  industry,  however  insistent,  that  will  deprive  the 
boy  or  girl  of  its  right  to  enjoy  a  certain  part  of  every  day 
for  play. 

58.  The  Right  to  Liberty. — The  present  tendency  is  to 
give  large  liberty  to  the  child.  Not  only  is  there  freedom 
on  the  playground,  but  social  control  in  the  home  also  has 
been  giving  place  during  the  last  generation  to  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  right  of  the  individual  child  to  develop  his  own 
personality  in  his  own  way,  without  much  interference 
from  authority.  It  is  true  that  there  is  a  nominal  control 
in  the  home,  in  the  school,  and  in  the  State,  but  in  an 
increasing  degree  that  control  is  held  in  abeyance  while 
parent,  teacher,  and  constable  leniently  indulge  the  child. 
This  is  a  natural  reaction  from  the  discipline  of  an  earlier 
time,  and  is  a  welcome  indication  that  children's  rights  are 
to  find  recognition.  Like  most  reactions,  there  is  danger 
of  its  going  too  far.  An  inexperienced  and  headstrong  child 
needs  wise  counsel  and  occasional  restraint,  and  within  the 
limits  of  kindness  is  helped  rather  than  harmed  by  a  deep 
respect  for  authority.  Lawlessness  is  one  of  the  dangers  of 
the  current  period.  It  appears  in  countless  minor  misde- 


Work,  Play,  and  Education  55 

meanors,  in  the  riotous  acts  of  gangs  and  mobs,  in  the 
recklessness  of  corporations  and  labor  unions,  and  in 
national  disregard  for  international  law;  and  its  destructive 
tendency  is  disastrous  for  the  future  of  civilized  society 
unless  a  new  restraint  from  earliest  childhood  keeps  liberty 
from  degenerating  into  license. 

59.  The  Right  to  Learn. — There  is  one  more  right  that 
belongs  to  children — the  right  of  an  opportunity  to  learn. 
Approximately  three  million  children  are  born  annually  in 
the  United  States.     Each  one  deserves  to  be  well-born  and 
well-reared.   He  needs  the  affectionate  care  of  parents  who 
will  see  that  he  learns  how  to  live.     This  instruction  need 
not  be  long  delayed,  and  should  not  be  relegated  altogether 
to  the  school.    There  is  first  of  all  physical  education.    It  is 
the  mother's  task  to  teach  the  child  the  principles  of  health, 
to  inculcate  proper  habits  of  eating,  drinking,  and  bathing. 
It  is  for  her  to  see  that  he  learns  how  to  play  with  pleasure 
and  profit,  and  is  permitted  to  give  expression  to  his  natural 
energies.     It  is  her  privilege  to  make  him  acquainted  with 
nature,  and  in  a  natural  way  with  the  illustration  of  flower 
and  bird  and  squirrel  she  can  give  the  child  first  lessons  in 
sex  hygiene.     It  is  the  function  of  the  mother  in  the  child's 
younger  years  and  of  the  father  in  adolescent  boyhood  to 
open  the  mind  of  the  child  to  understand  the  life  processes. 
The  lack  of  knowledge  brings  sorrow  and  sin  to  the  family 
and  injures  society.     Seeking  information  elsewhere,  the 
boy  and  girl  fall  into  bad  habits  and  lay  the  foundation  of 
permanent  ills.     The  adolescent  boy  should  be  taught  to 
avoid  self-abuse,  to  practise  healthful  habits,  and  to  keep 
from  contact  with  physical  and  moral  impurity;  the  ado- 
lescent girl  should  be  given  ample  instruction  in  taking  care 
of  herself  and  in  preparing  for  the  responsibility  of  adult  life. 

60.  Mental  and  Moral  Education. — Mental  education 
in  the  home  is  no  less  important.     It  is  there  that  the 
child's  instinctive  impulses  first  find  expression  and  he 
learns  to  imitate  the  words  and  actions  of  other  members 
of  the  home.     The  things  he  sees  and  handles  make  their 
impressions  upon  him.     He  feels  and  thinks  and  wills  a 
thousand  times  a  day.    The  channels  of  habit  are  being 


56         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

grooved  in  the  brain.  It  is  the  function  of  the  home  to 
protect  him  from  that  which  is  evil,  to  stimulate  in  him 
that  which  is  good.  Mental  and  moral  education  are 
inseparably  interwoven.  The  first  stories  told  by  the 
mother's  lips  not  only  produce  answering  thoughts  in  the 
child  mind,  but  answering  modes  of  conduct  also.  The 
chief  function  of  the  intellect  is  to  guide  to  right  choice. 

Character  building  is  the  supreme  object  of  life.  It 
begins  early.  Learning  to  obey  the  parent  is  the  first  step 
toward  self-control.  Learning  to  know  the  beautiful  from 
the  ugly,  the  true  from  the  false,  the  good  from  the  evil  is 
the  foundation  of  a  whole  system  of  ethics.  Learning  to 
judge  others  according  to  character  and  attainment  rather 
than  according  to  wealth  or  social  position  cultivates  the 
naturally  democratic  spirit  of  the  child,  and  makes  him  a 
true  American.  Sharing  in  the  responsibility  of  the  home 
begets  self-reliance  and  dependableness  in  later  life. 

The  supreme  lesson  of  life  is  to  learn  to  be  unselfish.  The 
child  in  the  home  is  often  obliged  to  yield  his  own  wishes, 
and  finds  that  he  gets  greater  satisfaction  than  if  he  had 
contended  successfully  for  his  own  claims.  In  the  home 
the  compelling  motive  of  his  life  may  be  consecrated  to 
the  highest  ideals,  long  before  childhood  has  merged  into 
manhood.  Such  consecration  of  motive  is  best  secured 
through  a  knowledge  of  the  concrete  lives  of  noble  men 
and  women.  The  noble  characters  of  history  and  literature 
are  portraits  of  abstract  excellences.  It  is  the  task  of 
moral  education  in  the  home  to  make  the  ideal  actual  in 
life,  to  show  that  it  is  possible  and  worth  while  to  be  noble- 
minded,  and  that  the  highest  ambition  that  a  person  can 
cherish  is  to  be  a  social  builder  among  his  fellows. 

61.  Child  Dependents. — Many  children  are  not  given 
the  rights  that  belong  to  them  in  the  home.  They  come 
into  the  world  sickly  or  crippled,  inheriting  a  weak  consti- 
tution or  a  tendency  toward  that  which  is  ill.  They  have 
little  help  from  environment.  One  of  a  numerous  family 
on  a  dilapidated  farm  or  in  an  unhealthy  tenement,  the 
child  struggles  for  an  existence.  Poverty,  drunkenness, 
crime,  illegitimacy  stamp  themselves  upon  the  home  life. 


Worky  Play,  and  Education  57 

Neglect  and  cruelty  take  the  place  of  care  and  education. 
The  death  of  one  or  both  parents  robs  the  children  of  home 
altogether.  The  child  becomes  dependent  on  society.  The 
number  of  such  children  in  the  United  States  approximates 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

In  the  absence  of  proper  home  care  and  training,  society 
for  its  own  protection  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  child  must 
assume  charge.  The  State  becomes  a  foster-parent,  and 
as  far  as  possible  provides  a  substitute  for  the  home.  The 
earlier  method  was  to  place  the  individual  child,  with  many 
other  similar  unfortunates,  in  a  public  or  private  philan- 
thropic institution.  In  such  an  environment  it  was  possi- 
ble to  maintain  discipline,  to  secure  instruction  and  a 
wholesome  atmosphere  for  social  development,  and  to  have 
the  advantage  of  economical  management.  But  experi- 
ence proved  that  a  large  institution  of  that  kind  can  never 
be  a  true  home  or  provide  the  proper  opportunity  for  the 
development  of  individuality.  The  placing-out  system, 
therefore,  grew  in  favor.  Results  were  better  when  a  child 
was  adopted  into  a  real  home,  and  received  a  measure  of 
family  affection  and  individual  care.  Even  where  a  public 
institution  must  continue  to  care  for  dependent  children,  it 
is  plainly  preferable  to  distribute  them  in  cottages  instead 
of  herding  them  in  one  large  building.  The  principle  of 
child  relief  is  that  life  shall  be  made  as  nearly  normal  as 
possible. 

It  is  an  accepted  principle,  also,  that  children  shall  be 
kept  in  their  own  home  whenever  possible,  and  if  removal 
is  necessary  that  they  be  restored  to  home  associations  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment.  In  case  of  poverty,  a  charity 
organization  society  will  help  a  needy  family  rather  than 
allow  it  to  disintegrate;  in  case  of  cruelty  or  neglect  such 
an  organization  as  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty 
to  Children  will  investigate,  and  if  necessary  find  a  better 
guardian;  but  the  case  must  be  an  aggravated  one  before 
the  society  takes  that  last  step,  so  important  does  the  func- 
tion of  the  home  seem  to  be. 

62.  Special  Institutions. — It  is,  of  course,  inevitable 
that  some  children  should  be  misplaced  and  that  some 


58         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

should  be  neglected  by  the  civil  authorities,  but  public  in- 
terest should  not  allow  such  conditions  to  persist.  Social 
sensitiveness  to  the  hard  lot  of  the  child  is  a  product  of  the 
modern  conscience.  Time  was  when  the  State  remanded 
all  chronic  dependents  to  the  doubtful  care  of  the  alms- 
house,  and  children  were  herded  indiscriminately  with  their 
elders,  as  child  delinquents  were  herded  in  the  prisons  with 
hardened  criminals.  Idiots,  epileptics,  and  deformed  and 
crippled  children  were  given  no  special  consideration.  A 
kindlier  public  policy  has  provided  special  institutions  for 
those  special  cases  where  under  State  officials  they  may 
receive  adequate  and  permanent  attention,  and  for  normal 
dependent  children  there  is  a  variety  of  agencies.  The 
most  approved  form  is  the  State  school.  This  is  virtually 
a  temporary  home  where  the  needy  child  is  placed  by 
investigation  and  order  of  the  court,  is  given  a  training  in 
elementary  subjects,  manual  arts,  and  domestic  science, 
and  after  three  or  four  years  is  placed  in  a  home,  preferably 
on  a  farm,  where  he  can  fill  a  worthy  place  in  society. 

63.  Children's  Aid  Societies. — Another  aid  society  is 
the  private  aid  society  supervised  and  sometimes  subsidized 
by  the  State.  This  is  a  philanthropic  organization  sup- 
ported by  private  gifts,  making  public  reports,  managed  by 
a  board  of  directors,  with  a  secretary  or  superintendent  as 
executive  officer,  and  often  with  a  temporary  home  for  the 
homeless.  With  these  private  agencies  the  placing-out 
principle  obtains,  and  children  are  soon  removed  to  per- 
manent homes.  The  work  of  the  aid  societies  is  by  no 
means  confined  to  finding  homes.  It  aids  parents  to  find 
truant  children,  it  gives  outings  in  the  summer  season,  it 
shelters  homeless  mothers  with  their  children,  it  adminis- 
ters aid  in  time  of  sickness.  In  industrial  schools  it  teaches 
children  to  help  themselves  by  training  them  in  such  prac- 
tical arts  as  carpentry,  caning  chairs,  printing,  cooking, 
dressmaking,  and  millinery. 

Efficient  oversight  and  management,  together  with  co- 
operation among  child-saving  agencies,  is  a  present  need. 
A  national  welfare  bureau  is  a  decided  step  in  advance. 
Prevention  of  neglect  and  cruelty  in  the  homes  of  the  chil- 


Work,  Play,  and  Education  59 

dren  themselves  is  the  immediate  goal  of  all  constructive 
effort.  The  education  of  public  opinion  to  demand  univer- 
sal consideration  for  child  life  is  the  ultimate  aim. 


READING  REFERENCES 

MANGOLD:  Problems  of  Child  Welfare,  pages  166-184,  271-341. 

CLOPPER:  Child  Labor  in  the  City  Street. 

McKEEVER:  Training  the  Boy,  pages  203-213. 

McKEEVER:  Farm  Boys  and  Girls,  pages  26-36. 

LEE:  Constructive  and  Preventive  Philanthropy,  pages  123-184. 

FOLKS:  Care  of  Destitute  and  Neglected  Children. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
HOME  ECONOMICS 

64.  The  Economic  Function  of  the  Home. — Up  to  this 
point  the  domestic  function  of  the  family  has  been  under 
consideration.     Marriage  and  parenthood  must  hold  first 
place,  because  they  are  fundamental  to  the  family  and  to 
the  welfare  of  the  race.     But  the  family  has  an  economic 
as  well  as  a  domestic  function.     The  primitive  instinct  of 
hunger  finds  satisfaction  in  the  home,  and  economic  needs 
are  supplied   in   clothing,   shelter,   and   bodily   comforts. 
Production,  distribution,  and  consumption  are  all  a  part 
of  the  life  of  the  farm.     Domestic  economy  is  the  founda- 
tion of  all  economics,  and  the  family  on  the  farm  presents 
the  fundamental  principles  and  phenomena  that  belong  to 
the  science  of  economics  as  it  presents  the  fundamentals  of 
sociology.     The  hunger  for  food  demands  satisfaction  even 
more  insistently  than  the  mating  instinct.     Birds  must  eat 
while  they  woo  each  other  and  build  their  nests,  and  when 
the  nest  is  full  of  helpless  young  both  parents  find  their 
time  occupied  in  foraging  for  food.     Similarly,  when  human 
mating  is  over  and  the  family  hearth  is  built,  and  especially 
when  children  have  entered  into  the  home  life,  the  main 
occupation  of  man  and  wife  is  to  provide  maintenance  for 
the  family.     The  need  of  food,  clothing,  and  shelter  is 
common  to  the  race.     The  requirements  of   the   family 
determine  largely  both  the  amount  and  the  kind  of  work 
that  is  done  to  meet  them.     However  broad  and  elevated 
may  be  the  interests  of  the  modern  gentleman  and  his  cul- 
tured wife,  they  cannot  forget  that  the  physical  needs  of 
their  family  are  as  insistent  as  those  of  the  unrefined  day 
laborer. 

65.  Primitive  Economics. — In  primitive  times  the  family 
provided  everything  for  itself.     In  forest  and  field  man  and 

60 


Home  Economics  61 

woman  foraged  for  food,  cooked  it  at  the  camp-fire  that  they 
made,  and  rested  under  a  temporary  shelter.  If  they 
required  clothing  they  robbed  the  wild  beasts  of  their  hide 
and  fur  or  wove  an  apron  of  vegetable  fibre.  Physical 
wants  were  few  and  required  comparatively  little  labor.  In 
the  pastoral  stage  the  flocks  and  herds  provided  food  and 
clothing.  Under  the  patriarchal  system  the  woman  was 
the  economic  slave.  She  was  goatherd  and  milkmaid,  fire- 
tender  and  cook,  tailor  and  tent-maker.  It  was  she  who 
coaxed  the  grains  to  grow  in  the  first  cultivated  field,  and 
experimented  with  the  first  kitchen  garden.  She  was  the 
dependable  field-hand  for  the  sowing  and  reaping,  when 
agriculture  became  the  principal  means  of  subsistence. 
But  woman's  position  has  steadily  improved.  She  is  no 
longer  the  slave  but  the  helper.  The  peasant  woman  of 
Europe  still  works  in  the  fields,  but  American  women  long 
ago  confined  themselves  to  indoor  tasks,  except  in  the 
gathering  of  special  crops  like  cotton  and  cranberries. 
Home  economics  have  taught  the  advantage  of  division  of 
labor  and  co-operation. 

66.  Division  of  Labor. — Because  of  greater  fitness  for 
the  heavy  labor  of  the  field  and  barn,  the  man  and  his  sons 
naturally  became  the  agriculturists  and  stock-breeders  as 
civilization  improved.  It  was  man's  function  to  produce 
the  raw  material  for  home  manufacture.  He  ploughed  and 
fertilized  the  soil,  planted  the  various  seeds,  cultivated  the 
growing  crops,  and  gathered  in  the  harvest.  It  was  his 
task  to  perform  the  rougher  part  of  preparing  the  raw 
material  for  use.  He  threshed  the  wheat  and  barley  on 
the  threshing-floor  and  ground  the  corn  at  the  mill,  and 
then  turned  over  the  product  to  his  wife.  He  bred  animals 
for  dairy  or  market,  milked  his  cows,  sheared  his  sheep, 
and  butchered  his  hogs  and  beeves;  it  was  her  task  to  turn 
them  to  the  household's  use.  She  learned  how  to  take  the 
wheat  and  corn,  the  beef  and  pork,  and  to  prepare  healthful 
and  appetizing  meals  for  the  household;  she  practised  mak- 
ing butter  and  cheese  for  home  use  and  exchange.  She 
took  the  flax  and  wool  and  spun  and  wove  them  into  cloth, 
and  with  her  needle  fashioned  garments  for  every  member 


62         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  the  household  and  furnishings  for  the  common  home. 
She  kept  clean  and  tidy  the  home  and  its  manufacturing 
tools. 

When  field  labor  was  slack  the  man  improved  the  oppor- 
tunity to  fashion  the  plough  and  the  horseshoe  at  the  forge, 
to  build  the  boat  or  the  cart  in  the  shop,  to  hew  stone  or 
cut  timber  for  building  or  firewood,  to  erect  a  mill  for  saw- 
ing lumber  or  grinding  grain.  Similarly  the  woman  used 
her  spare  time  in  knitting  and  mending,  and  if  time  and 
strength  permitted  added  to  her  duties  the  care  of  the 
poultry-house. 

67.  The  Servant  of  the  Household. — Long  before  civili- 
zation had  advanced  the  household  included  servants. 
When  wars  broke  out  the  victor  found  himself  possessed  of 
human  spoil.  With  passion  unrestrained,  he  killed  the 
man  or  woman  who  had  come  under  his  power,  but  when 
reason  had  a  chance  to  modify  emotion  he  decided  that  it 
was  more  sensible  to  save  his  captives  alive  and  to  work 
them  as  his  slaves.  The  men  could  satisfy  his  economic 
interest,  the  women  his  sex  desire.  The  men  were  useful 
in  the  field,  the  women  in  the  house.  Ancient  material 
prosperity  was  built  on  the  slave  system  of  industry.  The 
remarkable  culture  of  Athens  was  possible  because  the 
citizens,  free  from  the  necessity  of  labor,  enjoyed  ample 
leisure.  Lords  and  ladies  could  live  in  their  mediaeval 
castles  and  practise  chivalry  with  each  other,  because  peas- 
ants slaved  for  them  in  the  fields  without  pay.  Slowly  the 
servant  class  improved  its  status.  Slaves  became  serfs  and 
serfs  became  free  peasants,  but  the  relation  of  master  and 
servant  based  on  mutual  service  lasted  for  many  centuries. 

The  time  came  when  it  was  profitable  for  both  parties 
to  deal  on  a  money  basis,  and  the  workman  began  to  know 
the  meaning  of  independence.  The  actual  relation  of  mas- 
ter and  servant  remained  about  the  same,  for  the  workman 
was  still  dependent  upon  his  employer.  It  took  him  a 
long  time  to  learn  to  think  much  for  himself,  and  he  did 
not  know  how  to  find  employment  outside  of  the  com- 
munity or  even  the  household  where  he  had  grown  up. 
In  the  growing  democracy  of  England,  and  more  fully  in 


Home  Economics  63 

America,  the  workman  learned  to  negotiate  for  himself  as 
a  free  man,  and  even  to  become  himself  a  freeholder  of  land. 

68.  Hired  Labor  on  the  Farm. — In  the  process  of  pro- 
duction in  doors  and  out  it  was  impossible  on  a  large  farm 
for  the  independent  farmer  and  his  wife  to  get  on  alone. 
There  must  be  help  in  the  cultivation  of  many  acres  and 
in  the  care  of  cattle  and  sheep.     There  must  be  assistance 
in  the  home  when  the  birth  and  care  of  children  brought 
an  added  burden  to  the  housewife.    Later  the  growing 
boys  and  girls  could  have  their  chores  and  thus  add  their 
contribution  to  the  co-operative  household,  but  for  a  time 
at  least  success  on  the  farm  depended  on  the  hired  laborer. 
Husband  and  wife  became  directors  of  industry  as  well  as 
laborers  themselves.     In  the  busy  summer  season  it  was 
necessary  to  employ  one  or  more  assistants  in  the  field,  less 
often  indoors,  and  the  employee  became  for  a  time  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family.     Often  a  neighbor  performed  the  func- 
tion of  farm  assistant,  and  as  such  stood  on  the  same  level 
as  his  employer;  there  was  no  servant  class  or  servant 
problem,  except  the  occasional  shortage  of  laborers.    Young 
men  and  women  were  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  little 
money  and  to  save  it  in  anticipation  of  the  time  when  they 
would  set  up  farming  in  homes  of  their  own.    The  spirit 
and  practice  of  co-operation  dignified  the  employment  in 
which  all  were  engaged. 

69.  Co-operation. — The  control  of  the  manufacturing 
industry  on  a  large  scale  by  corporations  makes  hearty 
co-operation  between  the  employing  group  and  the  em- 
ployees difficult,  but  on  the  farm  the  personal  relations  of 
the  persons  engaged  made  it  easy  and  natural.     The  art  of 
working  together  as  well  as  living  together  was  an  achieve- 
ment of  the  home,  at  first  beginning  unconsciously,  but 
later  with  a  definite  purpose.     The  practice  of  co-operation 
is  a  continual  object-lesson  to  the  children,  as  they  become 
conscious  of  the  mutual  dependence  of  each  and  all.    The 
farmer  has  no  time  to  do  the  small  tasks,  and  so  the  boy 
must  do  the  chores.    There  is  a  limit  to  the  strength  of 
the  mother,  and  so  the  daughter  or  housemaid  must  sup- 
plement her  labors.     Without  the  grain  and  vegetables  the 


64         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

housewife  cannot  provide  the  meals,  but  the  man  is  equally 
dependent  upon  the  woman  for  the  preparation  of  the  food. 
Without  the  care  and  industry  of  the  parents  through  the 
helpless  years  of  childhood,  the  children  could  not  win  in 
the  struggle  for  existence.  Nor  is  it  merely  an  economic 
matter,  but  health  and  happiness  depend  upon  the  mutual 
consideration  and  helpfulness  of  every  member  of  the 
household. 

70.  Economic  Independence  of  the  Farm. — Until  well 
into  the  nineteenth  century  the  American  farm  household 
provided  for  most  of  its  own  economic  needs.  A  country 
store,  helped  out  if  necessary  by  an  occasional  visit  to  town, 
supplied  the  few  goods  that  were  not  produced  at  home. 
Economic  wants  were  simple  and  means  of  purchase  were 
not  abundant.  On  the  other  hand,  most  of  the  products 
of  the  farm  were  consumed  there.  In  the  prevailing  ex- 
tensive agriculture  the  returns  per  acre  were  not  great, 
methods  of  efficiency  were  not  known  or  were  given  little 
attention,  families  were  large  and  children  and  farm-hands 
enjoyed  good  appetites,  and  production  and  consumption 
tended  to  equalize  themselves.  In  the  process  of  the  home 
manufacture  of  clothing  it  was  difficult  to  keep  the  family 
provided  with  the  necessary  comforts ;  there  was  no  thought 
of  laying  by  a  surplus  beyond  the  anticipated  needs  of  the 
family  and  provision  for  the  wedding  store  of  marriageable 
daughters. 

The  distribution  of  any  accumulated  surplus  was  effected 
by  the  simplest  mechanism  of  exchange.  If  the  supply  of 
young  cattle  was  large  or  the  wood-lot  furnished  more  fire- 
wood than  was  needed,  the  product  was  bartered  for  seed 
corn  or  hay.  There  was  swapping  of  horses  by  the  men  or 
of  fruit  or  vegetable  preserves  by  the  women.  Eggs  and 
butter  disposed  of  at  the  store  helped  to  pay  for  sugar, 
salt,  and  spices.  New  incentives  to  larger  production  came 
with  the  extension  of  markets.  When  wood  and  hay  could 
be  shipped  to  a  distance  on  the  railroad,  when  a  milk  route 
in  the  neighborhood  or  a  milk-train  to  the  city  made  dairy 
products  more  profitable,  or  when  market  gardening  be- 
came possible  on  an  extensive  scale,  better  methods  of 


Home  Economics  65 

distribution  were  provided  to  take  care  of  the  more  nu- 
merous products. 

71.  Social  and  Economic  Changes  in  the  Family. — The 
fundamental  principles  that  govern  the  economic  activities 
of  the  family  are  the  same  as  they  used  to  be.  Industry, 
thrift,  and  co-operation  are  still  the  watchwords  of  pros- 
perity. But  with  the  development  of  civilization  and  the 
improvements  in  manufacture,  communication,  and  trans- 
portation, the  economic  function  of  the  family  has  changed. 
Instead  of  producing  all  the  crops  that  he  may  need  or  the 
tools  of  his  occupation,  the  farmer  tends  to  produce  the 
particular  crops  that  he  can  best  cultivate  and  that  will 
bring  him  the  largest  returns.  Because  of  increasing  facili- 
ties of  exchange  he  can  sell  his  surplus  and  purchase  the 
goods  that  will  satisfy  his  other  needs.  The  farmer's  wife 
no  longer  spins  and  weaves  the  family's  supply  of  clothing; 
the  men  buy  their  supply  at  the  store  and  often  even  she 
turns  over  the  task  of  making  up  her  own  gowns  to  the  vil- 
lage dressmaker.  Where  there  is  a  local  creamery  she  is 
relieved  of  the  manufacture  of  butter  and  cheese,  and  the 
cannery  lays  down  its  preserves  at  her  door.  Household 
manufacturing  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  food,  with  a  varying  amount  of  dressmaking  and 
millinery.  In  the  towns  and  cities  the  needs  of  the  family 
are  even  more  completely  supplied  from  without.  Children 
are  relieved  of  all  responsibility,  women's  cares  are  light- 
ened by  the  stock  of  material  in  the  shops,  and  the  bakery 
and  restaurant  help  to  supply  the  table.  Family  life  loses 
thereby  much  of  its  unity  of  effort  and  sympathy.  The 
economic  task  falls  mainly  upon  the  male  producer.  Even 
he  lives  on  the  land  and  in  the  house  of  another  man;  he 
owns  not  the  tools  of  his  industry  and  does  business  in 
another's  name.  He  hires  himself  to  a  superior  for  wage 
or  salary,  and  thereby  loses  in  a  measure  his  own  inde- 
pendence. But  there  is  a  gain  in  social  solidarity,  for  the 
chain  of  mutual  dependence  reaches  farther  and  binds 
more  firmly;  there  is  gain  in  community  co-operation,  for 
each  family  is  no  longer  self-sufficient. 


66          Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

BOSANQUET:  The  Family,  pages  221-227,  324-333. 

THOMAS:  Sex  and  Society,  pages  123-146. 

SMALL  AND  VINCENT:  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Society,  pages 

105-108. 

MASON:  Woman's  Share  in  Primitive  Culture. 
WEEDEN:  Economic  and  Social  History  of  New  England,  I,  pages 

324-326. 


CHAPTER  IX 
CHANGES  IN  THE  FAMILY 

72.  Causes  of  Changes  in  the  Family. — The  family  at 
the  present  time  is  in  a  transition  era.  Its  machinery  is 
not  working  smoothly.  Its  environment  is  undergoing 
transformation.  A  hundred  years  ago  the  family  was 
strictly  rural;  not  more  than  three  per  cent  of  the  people 
lived  in  large  communities.  Now  nearly  one-half  are 
classified  as  urban  by  the  United  States  census  of  1910,  and 
those  who  remain  rural  feel  the  influences  of  the  town. 
There  is  far  less  economic  independence  on  the  farm  than 
formerly,  and  in  the  towns  and  cities  the  home  is  little 
more  than  a  place  in  which  to  sleep  and  eat  for  an  increas- 
ing number  of  workers,  both  men  and  women.  The  family 
on  the  farm  is  no  longer  a  perfectly  representative  type  of 
the  family  in  the  more  populous  centres. 

These  changes  are  due  mainly  to  the  requirements  of 
industry,  but  partly  at  least  to  the  desire  of  all  members  of 
the  family  to  share  in  urban  life.  The  increasing  ease  of 
communication  and  travel  extends  the  mutual  acquain- 
tance of  city  and  country  people  and,  as  the  city  is  brought 
nearer,  its  pull  upon  the  young  people  of  the  community 
strengthens.  There  is  also  an  increasing  tendency  of  the 
women  folk  to  enter  the  various  departments  of  industry 
outside  of  the  home.  It  is  increasingly  difficult  for  one 
person  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  a  large  family.  This  tends 
to  send  the  family  to  the  city,  where  there  are  wider  oppor- 
tunities, and  to  drive  women  and  children  into  socialized 
industry;  at  the  same  time,  it  tends  to  restrict  the  number 
of  children  in  families  that  have  high  ideals  for  women  and 
children.  Family  life  everywhere  is  becoming  increasingly 
difficult,  and  at  the  same  time  every  member  of  the  family 
is  growing  more  independent  in  temper.  The  result  is  the 
breaking  up  of  a  large  number  of  homes,  because  of  the 

67 


68         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

departure  of  the  children,  the  separation  of  husband  and 
wife,  the  desertion  of  parents,  or  the  legal  divorce  of  mar- 
ried persons.  The  maintenance  of  the  family  as  a  social 
institution  is  seriously  threatened. 

73.  Static  vs.  Dynamic  Factors. — There  are  factors  en- 
tering into  family  life  that  act  as  bonds  to  cement  the  indi- 
vidual members  together.     Such  are  the  material  goods 
that  they  enjoy  in  common,  like  the  home  with  its  comforts 
and  the  means  of  support  upon  which  they  all  rely.     In 
addition  to  these  there  are  psychical  elements  that  enter 
into  their  relations  and  strengthen  these  bonds.     The  in- 
heritance of  the  peculiar  traits,  manners,  and  customs  that 
differentiate  one  family  from  another;  the  reputation  of 
the  family  name  and  pride  in  its  influence;  an  affection, 
understanding,  and  sympathy  that  come  from  the  intimacy 
of  the  home  life  and  the  appreciation  of  one  another's  best 
qualities  are  ties  that  do  not  easily  rend  or  loosen. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  centrifugal  forces  that  are 
pushing  the  members  of  the  family  apart.  At  the  bottom 
is  selfish  desire,  which  frets  at  restriction,  and  which  is 
stimulated  by  the  current  emphasis  upon  personal  pleasure 
and  individual  independence.  The  family  solidarity  which 
made  the  sons  Democrats  because  their  father  voted  that 
party  ticket,  or  the  daughters  Methodists  because  their 
mother's  religious  preferences  were  for  that  denomination, 
has  ceased  to  be  effective.  Every  member  of  the  family 
has  his  daily  occupations  in  diverse  localities.  The  head 
of  the  household  may  find  his  business  duties  in  the  city 
twenty  miles  away,  or  on  the  road  that  leads  him  far  afield 
across  the  continent.  For  long  hours  the  children  are  in 
school.  The  housewife  is  the  only  member  of  the  family 
who  remains  at  home  and  her  outside  interests  and  occupa- 
tions have  multiplied  so  rapidly  as  to  make  her,  too,  a 
comparative  stranger  to  the  home  life.  Modern  industrial- 
ism has  laid  its  hand  upon  the  women  and  children,  and 
thousands  of  them  know  the  home  only  at  morning  and 
night. 

74.  The  Strain  on  the  Urban  Family. — The  rapid  growth 
of  cities,  with  the  increase  of  buildings  for  the  joint  occu- 


Changes  in  the  Family  69 

pancy  of  a  number  of  families,  tends  to  disunity  in  each 
particular  family  and  to  a  reduction  in  the  size  of  families. 
The  privacy  and  sense  of  intimate  seclusion  of  the  detached 
home  is  violated.  The  modern  apartment-house  has  a 
common  hall  and  stairway  for  a  dozen  families  and  a  com- 
mon dining-room  and  kitchen  on  the  model  of  a  hotel. 
The  tenements  are  human  incubators  from  which  children 
overflow  upon  the  streets,  boarders  invade  the  privacy  of 
the  family  bedroom,  and  even  sanitary  conveniences  are 
public.  Home  life  is  violated  in  the  tenement  by  the 
pressure  of  an  unfavorable  environment;  it  perishes  on  the 
avenue  because  of  a  compelling  desire  to  gain  as  much 
freedom  as  possible  from  household  care. 

The  care  of  a  modern  household  grows  in  difficulty. 
Although  the  housekeeper  has  been  relieved  of  performing 
certain  economic  functions  that  added  to  the  burden  of 
her  grandmother,  her  responsibilities  have  been  compli- 
cated by  a  number  of  conditions  that  are  peculiar  to  the 
modern  life  of  the  town.  Social  custom  demands  of  the 
upper  classes  a  far  more  careful  observance  of  fashion  in 
dress  and  household  furnishings,  and  in  the  exchange  of 
social  courtesies.  The  increasing  cost  of  living  due  to  these 
circumstances,  and  to  a  constantly  rising  standard  of  liv- 
ing, reacts  upon  the  mind  and  nerves  of  the  housewife 
with  accelerating  force.  And  not  the  least  of  her  difficul- 
ties is  the  growing  seriousness  of  the  servant  problem. 
Custom,  social  obligations,  and  nervous  strain  combine  to 
make  essential  the  help  of  a  servant  in  the  home.  But  the 
American  maid  is  too  independent  and  high-minded  to 
make  a  household  servant,  and  the  American  matron  in 
the  main  has  not  learned  how  to  be  a  just  and  considerate 
mistress.  The  result  has  been  an  influx  of  immigrant  labor 
by  servants  who  are  untrained  and  inefficient,  yet  soon 
learn  to  make  successful  demands  upon  the  employer  for 
larger  wages  and  more  privileges  because  they  are  so  essen- 
tial to  the  comfort  and  even  the  existence  of  the  family. 
Family  life  is  increasingly  at  the  mercy  of  the  household 
employee.  It  is  not  strange  that  many  women  prefer  the 
comfort  and  relief  of  an  apartment  or  hotel,  that  many 


70         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

more  hesitate  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  marriage  and 
children,  preferring  to  undertake  their  own  self -support, 
and  that  not  a  few  seek  divorce. 

75.  Family  Desertion. — While  the  burden  of  housekeep- 
ing rests  upon  the  wife,  there  are  corresponding  weights 
and  annoyances  that  fall  upon  the  man.  Business  pressure 
and  professional  responsibility  are  wearying;  he,  too,  feels 
the  strain  upon  his  nerves.  When  he  returns  home  at 
evening  he  is  easily  disturbed  by  a  worried  wife,  tired  and 
fretful  children,  and  the  unmistakable  atmosphere  of  gloom 
and  friction  that  permeates  many  homes.  He  contrasts 
his  unenviable  position  with  the  freedom  and  good-fellow- 
ship of  the  club,  and  chafes  under  the  family  bonds.  In 
many  cases  he  breaks  them  and  sets  himself  free  by  way 
of  the  divorce  court.  The  course  of  men  of  the  upper  class 
is  paralleled  by  that  of  the  working  man  or  idler  who  meets 
similar  conditions  in  a  home  where  the  servant  does  not 
enter,  but  where  there  is  a  surplus  of  children.  He  finds 
frequent  relief  in  the  saloon,  and  eventually  escapes  by 
deserting  his  family  altogether,  instead  of  having  recourse 
to  the  law.  This  practice  of  desertion,  which  is  the  poor 
man's  method  of  divorce,  is  one  of  the  continual  perplexities 
of  organized  charity,  and  constitutes  one  of  the  serious 
problems  of  family  life.  There  are  gradations  in  the  prac- 
tice of  desertion,  and  it  is  not  confined  to  men.  The  social 
butterfly  who  neglects  her  children  to  flutter  here  and  there 
is  a  temporary  deserter,  little  less  culpable  than  the  lazy 
husband  who  has  an  attack  of  wanderlust  before  the  birth 
of  each  child,  and  who  returns  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of 
home  as  soon  as  his  wife  is  again  able  to  assume  the  func- 
tion of  bread-winner  for  the  growing  family.  From  these 
it  is  but  a  step  to  the  mutual  desertion  of  a  man  and  a 
woman,  who  from  incompatibility  of  temper  find  it  advis- 
able to  separate  and  go  their  own  selfish  ways,  to  wait 
until  the  law  allows  a  final  severance  of  the  marriage  bond. 

It  is  indisputable  that  this  breaking  up  of  the  home  is 
reacting  seriously  upon  the  moral  character  of  the  present 
generation ;  there  is  a  carelessness  in  assuming  the  responsi- 
bility of  marriage,  and  too  much  shirking  of  responsibility 


Changes  in  the  Family  71 

when  the  burden  weighs  heavily.  There  is  a  weakening  of 
real  affection  and  a  consequent  lack  of  mutual  forbearance; 
there  is  an  increasing  feeling  that  marriage  is  a  lottery  and 
not  worth  while  unless  it  promises  increased  satisfaction  of 
sexual,  economic,  or  social  desires  and  ambitions. 

76.  Feminism. — There  can  be  no  question  that  the 
growing  independence  of  woman  has  complicated  the 
family  situation.  In  reaction  against  the  long  subjection 
that  has  fallen  to  her  lot,  the  modern  woman  in  many  cases 
rebels  against  the  control  of  custom  and  the  expectations 
of  society,  refuses  to  regard  herself  as  strictly  a  home- 
keeper,  and  in  some  cases  is  unwilling  to  become  a  mother. 
She  seeks  wider  associations  and  a  larger  range  of  activities 
outside  of  the  home,  she  demands  the  same  rights  and 
privileges  that  belong  to  man,  and  she  dreams  of  the  day 
when  her  power  as  well  as  her  influence  will  help  to  mould 
social  institutions.  The  feminist  movement  is  in  the  large 
a  wholesome  reaction  against  an  undeserved  subserviency 
to  the  masculine  will.  Undoubtedly  it  contains  great  social 
potencies.  It  deserves  kindly  reception  in  the  struggle  to 
reform  and  reconstruct  society  where  society  is  weak. 

The  present  situation  deserves  not  abuse,  but  the  most 
careful  consideration  from  every  man.  In  countless  cases 
woman  has  not  only  been  repressed  from  activities  outside 
of  the  family  group,  but  has  been  oppressed  in  her  own 
home  also.  America  prides  itself  on  its  consideration  for 
woman  in  comparison  with  the  general  European  attitude 
toward  her,  but  too  often  chivalry  is  not  exercised  in  the 
home.  Often  the  wife  has  been  a  slave  in  the  household 
where  she  should  have  been  queen.  She  has  been  subject 
to  the  passion  of  an  hour  and  the  whim  of  a  moment.  She 
has  been  servant  rather  than  helpmeet.  Upon  her  have 
fallen  the  reproaches  of  the  unbridled  temper  of  other 
members  of  the  family;  upon  her  have  rested  the  burdens 
that  others  have  shirked.  Husband  and  children  have 
been  free  to  find  diversion  elsewhere;  family  responsibilities 
or  broken  health  have  confined  her  at  home.  Her  husband 
might  even  find  sex  satisfaction  away  from  home,  but  pub- 
lic opinion  would  be  more  lenient  with  him  than  with  her 


72         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

if  she  offended.  The  time  has  come  when  it  is  right  that 
these  inequalities  and  injustices  should  cease.  Society 
owes  to  woman  not  only  her  right  to  her  own  person  and 
property,  but  the  right  to  bear,  also,  her  fair  share  of 
social  responsibility  in  this  modern  world. 

Yet  in  the  process  of  coming  to  her  own,  there  is  danger 
that  the  wife  will  forget  that  marriage  is  the  most  precious 
of  human  relations;  that  the  home  has  the  first  claim  upon 
her;  that  motherhood  is  the  greatest  privilege  to  which  any 
woman,  however  socially  gifted,  can  aspire;  and  that  social 
institutions  of  tried  worth  are  not  lightly  to  be  cast  upon 
the  rubbish  heap.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  society 
can  afford  or  that  women  ought  to  demand  individualistic 
rights  that  will  put  in  jeopardy  the  welfare  of  the  remainder 
of  the  family.  The  average  woman  has  not  the  strength  to 
carry  properly  the  burden  of  home  cares  plus  large  political 
and  social  responsibilities,  nor  has  she  the  money  to  employ 
in  the  home  all  the  modern  improvements  of  labor-saving 
devices  and  skilled  service  that  might  in  a  measure  take 
her  place.  Nor  is  it  at  all  certain  that  the  granting  of 
individual  rights  to  women  would  tend  to  purify  sex  rela- 
tions, but  it  is  quite  conceivable  that  the  old  moral  and 
religious  sanctions  of  marriage  may  disappear  and  the 
State  assume  the  task  of  caring  for  all  children.  It  is  clear 
that  the  rights  and  duties  of  women  constitute  a  very 
serious  part  of  the  problem  of  family  life. 

77.  Individual  Rights  vs.  Social  Duties. — The  greatest 
weakness  to  be  found  in  twentieth-century  society  is  the 
disposition  on  the  part  of  almost  all  individuals  to  place 
personal  rights  ahead  of  social  duties.  The  modern  spirit 
of  individualism  has  grown  strong  since  the  Renaissance 
and  the  Reformation.  It  has  forced  political  changes  until 
absolutism  has  been  yielding  everywhere  to  democracy.  It 
has  extended  social  privileges  until  it  has  become  possible 
for  any  one  with  push  and  ability  to  make  his  way  to  the 
top  rung  of  the  ladder  of  social  prestige.  It  has  permitted 
freedom  to  profess  and  practise  any  religion,  and  to  advo- 
cate the  most  bizarre  ideas  in  ethics  and  philosophy.  It 
has  brought  human  individuals  to  the  place  where  they 


Changes  m  the  Family  73 

feel  that  nothing  may  be  permitted  to  stand  between  them 
and  the  satisfaction  of  personal  desire.  The  disciples  of 
Nietzsche  do  not  hesitate  to  stand  boldly  for  the  principle 
that  might  makes  right,  that  he  who  can  crush  his  competi- 
tors in  the  race  for  pleasure  and  profit  has  an  indisputable 
claim  on  whatever  he  can  grasp,  and  that  the  principle  of 
mutual  consideration  is  antiquated  and  ridiculous.  Such 
principles  and  privileges  may  comport  with  the  elemental 
instincts  and  interests  of  unrestrained,  primitive  creatures, 
but  they  do  not  harmonize  with  requirements  of  social 
solidarity  and  efficiency.  Social  evolution  in  the  past  has 
come  only  as  the  struggle  for  individual  existence  was 
modified  by  consideration  for  the  needs  of  another,  and 
social  welfare  in  the  future  can  be  realized  only  as  men 
and  women  both  are  willing  to  sacrifice  age-long  prejudice 
or  momentary  pleasure  and  profit  to  the  permanent  good 
of  the  larger  group. 

READING  REFERENCES 

COOLEY:  Social  Organization,  pages  356-371. 

BRANDT  AND  BALDWIN:  Family  Desertion. 

DEALEY:  The  Family  in  Its  Sociological  Aspects,  pages  85-95,  I09~ 

118. 
GOODSELL:   The  Family  as  a  Social  and  Educational  Institution, 

pages  456-477- 
HOWARD:  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  III,  pages  239-250. 


CHAPTER  X 
DIVORCE 

78.  The  Main  Facts  About  Divorce. — An  indication  of 
the  emphasis  on  individual  rights  is  furnished  by  the  in- 
crease of  divorce,  especially  in  the  United  States,  where 
the  demands  of  individualism  and  industrialism  are  most 
insistent.  The  divorce  record  is  the  thermometer  that 
measures  the  heat  of  domestic  friction.  Statistics  of  mar- 
riage and  divorce  made  by  the  National  Government  in 
1886  and  again  in  1906  make  possible  a  comparison  of 
conditions  which  reveal  a  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of 
divorces  granted  by  the  courts.  Certain  outstanding  facts 
are  of  great  importance. 

(1)  The  number  of  divorces  in  twenty  years  increased 
from  23,000  to  72,000,  which  is  three  times  the  rate  of  in- 
crease of  the  population  of  the  country.     If  this  rate  of 
progress  continues,  more  than  half  the  marriages  in  the 
United  States  will  terminate  in  divorce  by  the  end  of  the 
present  century. 

(2)  In  the  first  census  it  was  discovered  that  the  num- 
ber of  divorces  in  the  United  States  exceeded  the  total 
number  of  divorces  in  all  the  European  countries;  in  the 
second  census  it  was  shown  that  the  United  States  had 
increased  its  divorces  three  times,  while  Japan,  with  the 
largest  divorce  rate  in  the  world,  had  reduced  its  rate 
one-half. 

(3)  Divorces  in  the  United  States  are  least  common 
among  people  of  the  middle  class;  they  are  higher  among 
native  whites  than  among  immigrants,  and  they  are  highest 
in  cities  and  among  childless  couples. 

(4)  Two-thirds  of  the  divorces  are  granted  on  the  de- 
mands of  the  wife. 

(5)  ^  Divorce  laws  are  very  variable  in  the  different 

74 


Divorce  75 

States,  but  most  divorces  are  obtained  from  the  States 
where  the  applicants  reside. 

79.  Causes  of  Divorce. — The  causes  recorded  in  divorce 
cases  do  not  represent  accurately  the  real  causes,  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  easier  to  get  an  uncontested  decision  when 
the  charges  are  not  severe,  and  also  for  the  reason  that 
State  laws  vary  and  that  which  best  fits  the  law  will  be 
put  forward  as  the  principal  cause.  Divorce  laws  in  the 
United  States  generally  recognize  adultery,  desertion,  cru- 
elty, drunkenness,  lack  of  support,  and  crime  as  legitimate 
grounds  for  divorce.  In  the  five  years  from  1902  to  1906 
desertion  was  given  as  the  ground  for  divorce  in  thirty- 
eight  per  cent  of  the  cases,  cruelty  in  twenty-three  per 
cent,  and  adultery  in  fifteen  per  cent.  Intemperance  was 
given  as  the  direct  cause  in  only  four  per  cent,  and  neglect 
approximately  the  same.  The  assignment  of  marital  un- 
faithfulness in  less  than  one-sixth  of  the  cases,  as  compared 
with  one-fourth  twenty  years  before  does  not  mean,  how- 
ever, that  there  is  less  unfaithfulness,  but  that  minor 
offenses  are  considered  sufficient  on  which  to  base  a  claim; 
the-  small  percentage  of  charges  of  intemperance  as  the 
principal  cause  ought  not  to  obscure  the  fact  that  it  was 
an  indirect  cause  in  one-fifth  of  the  cases. 

It  is  natural  that  the  countries  of  Europe  should  present 
greater  variety  of  laws  and  of  causes  assigned.  In  England, 
where  the  law  has  insisted  on  adultery  as  a  necessary  cause, 
divorces  have  been  few.  In  Ireland,  where  the  church  for- 
bids it,  divorce  is  rare,  less  than  one  to  thirty-five  marriages. 
In  Scotland  fifty  per  cent  of  the  cases  reported  are  due  to 
adultery.  Cruelty  was  the  principal  cause  ascribed  in 
France,  Austria,  and  Rumania;  desertion  in  Russia  and 
Sweden.  The  tendency  abroad  is  to  ascribe  more  rather 
than  less  to  adultery. 

The  real  causes  for  divorce  are  more  remote  than  the 
specific  acts  of  adultery,  desertion,  or  cruelty  that  are 
mentioned  as  grounds  for  divorce.  The  primary  cause  is 
undoubtedly  the  spirit  of  individual  independence  that  de- 
mands its  rights  at  the  expense  of  others.  In  the  case  of 
women  there  is  less  hesitancy  than  formerly  in  seeking  free- 


76         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

dom  from  the  marriage  bond  because  of  the  increasing 
opportunity  of  self-support.  The  changing  conditions  of 
home  life  in  the  city,  with  the  increasing  cost  of  living, 
coupled  with  the  ease  of  divorce,  encourage  resort  to  the 
courts.  The  unscrupulousness  of  some  lawyers,  who  fatten 
their  purses  at  the  expense  of  marital  happiness,  and  the 
meddlesomeness  of  relatives  are  also  contributing  causes. 
Finally  the  restraint  of  religion  has  relaxed,  and  unhappy 
and  ill-mated  persons  do  not  shrink  from  taking  a  step 
which  was  formerly  condemned  by  the  church. 

80.  History  of  Divorce. — The  history  of  divorce  pre- 
sents various  opinions  and  practices.  The  Hebrews  had 
high  ideals,  but  frequently  fell  into  lax  practices;  the  Greeks 
began  well  but  degenerated  sadly  to  the  point  where  mar- 
riage was  a  mere  matter  of  convenience;  the  Romans,  noted 
for  their  sterling  qualities  in  the  early  days  of  the  republic, 
practised  divorce  without  restraint  in  the  later  days  of  the 
empire. 

The  influence  of  Christianity  was  greatly  to  restrict 
divorce.  The  teaching  of  the  Bible  was  explicit  that  the 
basis  of  marriage  was  the  faithful  love  of  the  heart,  and 
that  impure  desire  was  the  essence  of  adultery.  Illicit 
intercourse  was  the  only  possible  moral  excuse  for  divorce. 
True  to  this  teaching,  the  Christian  church  tried  hard  to 
abolish  divorce,  as  it  attempted  to  check  all  sexual  evils, 
and  the  Catholic  Church  threw  about  marriage  the  veil  of 
sanctity  by  making  it  one  of  the  seven  sacraments.  As  a 
sacrament  wedlock  was  indissoluble,  except  as  money  or 
influence  induced  the  church  to  turn  back  the  key  which 
it  alone  possessed.  Separation  was  allowed  by  law,  but 
not  divorce.  Greater  stability  was  infused  into  the  mar- 
riage relation.  Yet  it  is  not  possible  to  purify  sex  relations 
by  tying  tightly  the  marriage  bond.  Unfaithfulness  has 
been  so  common  in  Europe  among  the  higher  classes  that 
it  occasioned  little  remark,  until  the  social  conscience  be- 
came sensitive  in  recent  decades,  and  among  the  lower 
classes  divorce  was  often  unnecessary,  because  so  many 
unions  took  place  without  the  sanction  of  the  church.  In 
Protestant  countries  there  has  been  a  variable  recession 


Divorce  77 

from  the  extreme  Catholic  ground.  The  Episcopal  Church 
in  England  and  in  colonial  America  recognized  only  the  one 
Biblical  cause  of  unfaithfulness;  the  more  radical  Protes- 
tants turned  over  the  whole  matter  to  the  state.  In  New 
England  desertion  and  cruelty  were  accepted  alongside 
adultery  as  sufficient  grounds  for  divorce,  and  the  legisla- 
ture sometimes  granted  it  by  special  enactment. 

81.  Investigation  and  Legislation  in  the  United  States 
and  England. — The  divorce  question  provoked  some  dis- 
cussion in  this  country  about  the  time  of  the  Civil  War, 
and  some  statistics  were  gathered.  Twenty  years  later 
the  National  Government  was  induced  by  the  National 
Divorce  Reform  League  to  take  a  careful  census  of  mar- 
riage and  divorce.  This  was  published  in  1889,  and  revised 
and  reissued  in  1909.  These  reports  aroused  the  States 
which  controlled  the  regulation  of  marriage  and  divorce  to 
attempt  improved  legislation.  Almost  universally  among 
them  divorce  was  made  more  difficult  instead  of  easier. 
The  term  of  residence  before  divorce  could  be  obtained  was 
lengthened;  certain  changes  were  made  in  the  legal  grounds 
for  divorce;  in  less  than  twenty  years  fourteen  States  lim- 
ited the  privilege  of  divorced  persons  to  remarry  until 
after  a  specified  time  had  elapsed,  varying  from  three 
months  to  two  years.  Congress  passed  a  uniform  marriage 
law  for  all  the  territories.  It  was  believed  almost  univer- 
sally that  the  Constitution  should  be  amended  so  as  to 
secure  a  federal  divorce  law,  but  experience  proved  that 
it  was  better  that  individual  States  should  adopt  a  uniform 
law.  The  later  tendency  has  been  in  this  direction. 

At  the  same  time,  the  churches  of  the  country  interested 
themselves  in  the  subject.  The  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  took  strong  ground  against  its  ministers  remarrying 
a  divorced  person,  and  the  National  Council  of  Congrega- 
tional Churches  appointed  a  special  committee  which  re- 
ported in  1907  in  favor  of  strictness.  Fourteen  Protestant 
churches  combined  in  an  Interchurch  Committee  to  secure 
united  action,  and  the  Federal  Council  of  Churches  recorded 
itself  against  the  prevailing  laxness.  The  purpose  of  all 
this  group  action  was  to  check  abuses  and  to  create  a  more 


78         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

sensitive  public  opinion,  especially  among  moral  and  relig- 
ious leaders. 

In  Great  Britain,  on  the  other  hand,  divorce  had  always 
been  difficult.  There  the  strictness  of  the  law  led  to  a 
demand  for  a  study  of  the  subject  and  a  report  to  Parlia- 
ment. The  result  was  the  appointment  of  a  Royal  Com- 
mission on  Divorce  and  Matrimonial  Causes,  consisting  of 
twelve  members,  which  investigated  for  three  years,  and  in 
1912  presented  its  report.  It  recognized  the  fact  that 
severe  restrictions  were  in  force,  and  a  majority  of  the 
commission  regarding  marriage  as  a  legal  rather  than  a 
sacramental  bond,  favored  easier  divorce  and  a  single 
standard  of  morality  for  both  sexes.  It  was  proposed  that 
the  grounds  for  legal  divorce  should  be  adultery,  desertion 
extending  over  three  years,  cruelty,  incurable  insanity  after 
confinement  for  five  years,  habitual  drunkenness  found 
incurable  after  three  years,  or  imprisonment  carrying  with 
it  a  sentence  of  death.  A  minority  of  the  committee  still 
regarding  marriage  as  a  sacrament,  favored  no  relaxation 
of  the  law  as  it  stood. 

82.  Proposed  Remedies. — Various  remedies  have  been 
proposed  to  stem  the  tide  of  excessive  divorce.  There  are 
many  who  see  in  divorce  nothing  more  than  a  healthy 
symptom  of  individual  independence,  a  revolt  against  con- 
ditions of  the  home  that  are  sometimes  almost  intolerable. 
Many  others  are  alarmed  at  the  rapid  increase  of  divorce, 
especially  in  the  United  States,  and  believe  that  checks  are 
necessary  for  the  continued  existence  of  the  family  and  the 
well-being  of  society.  The  first  reform  proposed  as  a 
means  of  prevention  of  divorce  is  the  revision  of  the  mar- 
riage laws  on  a  higher  model.  The  second  is  a  stricter 
divorce  law,  made  as  uniform  as  possible.  The  third  is  the 
adoption  of  measures  of  reconciliation  which  will  remove 
the  causes  that  provoke  divorce. 

The  proposed  laws  include  such  provisions  as  the  prohibi- 
tion of  marriage  for  those  who  are  criminal,  degenerate,  or 
unfitted  to  perform  the  sex  function;  the  requirement  of 
six  months'  publication  of  matrimonial  banns  and  a  phys- 
ical certificate  before  marriage;  a  strictly  provisional  decree 


Divorce  79 

of  divorce;  the  establishment  of  a  court  of  domestic  rela- 
tions, and  a  prohibition  of  remarriage  of  the  defendant 
during  the  life  of  the  plaintiff.  These  are  reasonable 
restrictions  and  seem  likely  to  be  adopted  gradually,  as 
practicable  improvements  over  the  existing  laws.  It  is  also 
proposed  that  the  merits  of  every  case  shall  be  more  care- 
fully considered,  and  the  judicial  procedure  improved  by 
the  appointment  of  a  divorce  proctor  in  connection  with 
every  court  trying  divorce  cases,  whose  business  it  shall 
be  to  make  investigations  and  to  assist  in  trying  or  settling 
specific  cases.  Experiment  has  proved  the  value  of  such 
an  officer. 

83.  Court  of  Domestic  Relations. — One  of  the  most 
significant  improvements  that  has  taken  place  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  court  of  domestic  relations,  which  already 
exists  in  several  cities,  and  has  made  an  enviable  record. 
In  the  early  experiments  it  seemed  practicable  in  Kansas 
to  make  such  a  court  a  branch  of  the  circuit  and  juvenile 
courts,  so  arranged  that  it  would  be  possible  to  deal  with 
the  relations  of  the  whole  family;  in  Chicago  the  new 
tribunal  was  made  a  part  of  the  municipal  court.     By  means 
of  patient  questioning,  first  by  a  woman  assistant  and 
then  by  the  judge  himself,  and  by  good  advice  and  explicit 
directions  as  to  conduct,  with  a  warning  that  failure  would 
be  severely  treated,  it  has  been  possible  to  unravel  hun- 
dreds of  domestic  entanglements. 

84.  Tendencies. — There  can  be  no  question  that  the 
present  tendency  is  in  the  direction  of  greater  freedom  in 
the  marriage  relation.     Society  will  not  continue  to  sanc- 
tion inhumanity  and  immorality  in  the  relations  of  man  to 
woman.     Marriage  is  ideally  a  sacred  relation,  but  when  it 
is  not  so  treated,  when  love  is  dead  and  repulsion  has  taken 
its  place,  and  especially  when  physical  contact  brings  dis- 
ease and  suffering,  public  opinion  is  likely  to  consider  that 
marriage  is  thereby  virtually  annulled,  and  to  permit  rati- 
fication of  the  fact  by  a  decree  of  divorce.     On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  probable  that  increasing  emphasis  will  be  put  on 
serious  and  well-prepared  marriage,  on  the  inculcation  of  a 
spirit  of  mutual  love  and  forbearance  through  the  agency 


80         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  the  church,  and  on  the  exhaustion  of  every  effort  to 
restore  right  relations,  if  they  have  not  been  irreparably 
destroyed,  before  any  grant  of  divorce  will  be  allowed.  In 
this,  as  in  all  problems  of  the  family,  the  spirit  of  mutual 
consideration  for  the  interests  of  all  concerned  is  that  which 
must  be  invoked  for  a  speedy  and  permanent  solution. 
Education  of  young  people  in  the  importance  of  the  family 
as  a  social  institution  and  in  the  responsibility  which  every 
individual  member  should  feel  to  make  and  keep  the  family 
pure  and  strong  as  a  bulwark  of  social  stability,  is  the  surest 
means  of  preventing  altogether  its  dissolution. 

READING   REFERENCES 

"Report  on  Marriage  and  Divorce,"  1906,  Bureau  of  the  Census,  I, 

pages  272-274,  331-333- 

"Reports  of  the  National  League  for  the  Protection  of  the  Family." 
POST:  Ethics  of  Marriage  and  Divorce,  pages  62-84. 
DEALEY:  The  Family  in  Its  Sociological  Aspects,  pages  96-108. 
HOWARD:  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  III,  pages  3-160. 
WILLCOX:  The  Divorce  Problem. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE   SOCIAL   EVIL 

85.  Sexual  Impurity. — A  prime  factor  in  the  breaking 
up  of  the  home  is  sexual  impurity.     The  sex  passion,  an 
elemental  instinct  of  humanity,  is  sanctified  by  the  mar- 
riage relation,  but  unbridled  in  those  who  seek  above  all 
else  their  own  pleasure,  becomes  a  curse  hi  body  and  soul. 
It  is  not  limited  to  either  sex,  but  men  have  been  more 
self-indulgent,  and  have  been  treated  more  leniently  than 
erring  women.     Sexual  impurity  is  wide-spread,  but  public 
opinion  against  it  is  steadily  strengthening,  and  the  ten- 
dency is  to  hold  men  and  women  equally  responsible.     For 
the  sake  of  clearness  it  is  advisable  to  distinguish  between 
various  forms  of  impurity,  and  to  observe  the  proper  terms. 
The  sexual  evil  appears  in  aggravated  form  in  commercial 
prostitution,  but  is  more  prevalent  as  an  irregularity  among 
non-professionals.     Sexual  intercourse  before  marriage,  or 
fornication,  was  not  infrequent  in  colonial  days,  and  in 
Europe  is  startlingly  common;  very  frequently  among  the 
lower  classes  there  is  no  marriage  until  a  child  is  born. 
Sexual  infidelity  after  marriage,  or  adultery,  is  the  cause 
of  the  ruin  of  many  homes.     In  the  cities  and  among  the 
well-to-do  classes  the  keeping  of  mistresses  is  an  occasional 
practice,  but  it  is  far  less  common  than  was  the  case  in 
former  days,  when  it  was  the  regular  custom  at  royal  courts 
and  imitated  by  those  lower  in  the  social  scale. 

86.  Prostitution. — Prostitution,    softened    in    common 
speech  to    "the  social  evil,"  is  a  term  for  promiscuity  of 
sex  relationship  for  pay  or  its  equivalent.     It  is  a  very  old 
practice,  and  has  existed  in  the  East  as  a  part  of  religious 
worship  in  veneration  of  the  power  of  generation.     In  the 
West  it  is  a  frequent  accompaniment  of  intemperance  and 
crime.     Modern  prostitutes  are  recruited  almost  entirely 
from  the  lower  middle  class,  both  in  Europe  and  America. 

81 


82          Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

Ignorant  and  helpless  immigrant  girls  are  seduced  on  the 
journey,  in  the  streets  of  American  cities,  and  in  the  tene- 
ments. Domestic  servants  and  employees  in  factories  and 
department  stores  seem  to  be  most  subject  to  exploitation, 
but  no  class  or  employment  is  immune.  A  great  many 
girls,  while  still  in  their  teens,  have  begun  their  destructive 
career.  They  are  peculiarly  susceptible  in  the  evening, 
after  the  strain  of  the  day's  labor,  when  they  are  hunting 
for  fun  and  excitement  in  theatres,  dance-halls,  and  moving- 
picture  shows.  In  summer  they  are  themselves  hunted  on 
excursion  steamers,  and  at  the  parks  and  recreation  grounds. 
The  seduction  and  exploitation  of  young  women  has  be- 
come a  distinct  occupation  of  certain  worthless  young  men, 
commonly  known  as  cadets,  who  live  upon  the  earnings  of 
the  women  they  procure.  Three-fourths  of  the  prostitutes 
have  such  men  dependent  on  them,  to  whom  they  remain 
attached  through  fear  or  need  of  pecuniary  relief  in  case  of 
arrest,  or  even  through  a  species  of  affection,  though  they 
receive  nothing  but  abuse  in  return.  Once  secured,  the 
victim  is  not  permitted  to  escape.  Not  many  women  enter 
the  life  of  prostitution  from  choice,  but  when  they  have 
once  yielded  to  temptation  or  force,  they  lose  their  self- 
respect  and  usually  sink  into  hopeless  degradation,  and 
then  do  not  shrink  from  soliciting  business  within  doors 
or  on  the  streets. 

87.  Promotion  and  Regulation  of  Vice. — The  social  evil 
is  centred  in  houses  of  ill  fame  managed  by  unprincipled 
women.  The  business  is  financed  and  the  profits  enjoyed 
by  men  who  constantly  stimulate  the  trade  to  make  it  more 
profitable.  As  a  result  of  investigations  in  New  York,  it  is 
estimated  that  the  number  of  prostitutes  would  be  not 
more  than  one-fourth  of  what  it  is  were  it  not  for  the  ruth- 
less greed  of  these  men.  The  houses  are  usually  located  in 
the  poorer  parts  of  the  city,  but  they  are  also  to  be  found 
scattered  elsewhere.  In  cases  where  public  opinion  does 
not  warrant  rigid  enforcement  of  the  law  against  it,  the 
illicit  traffic  is  disregarded  by  the  police,  and  often  they  are 
willing  to  share  in  the  gains  as  the  price  of  their  leniency. 
As  a  rule  the  business  is  kept  under  cover  and  not  per- 


The  Social  Euil  83 

mitted  to  flaunt  itself  on  the  streets.  Definite  segregation 
in  a  particular  district  has  been  attempted,  and  has  some- 
times been  favored  as  a  means  of  checking  vice,  but  this 
means  is  not  practised  or  favored  after  experiment  has 
shown  its  uselessness  as  a  check  upon  the  trade.  Govern- 
ment regulation  by  a  system  of  license,  with  registration  of 
prostitutes  and  regular  though  superficial  examination  of 
health,  is  in  vogue  in  parts  of  western  and  southern  Europe, 
but  it  is  not  favored  by  vice  commissions  that  have  ex- 
amined into  its  workings. 

88.  Extent  of  the  Social  Evil. — It  is  probable  that  esti- 
mates as  to  the  number  of  prostitutes  in  the  great  urban 
centres  has  been  much  exaggerated.     In  the  nature  of  the 
case  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  accurate  reports,  but  when  it 
is  remembered  that  the  number  of  men  who  frequent  the 
resorts  is  not  less  than  fifteen  times  the  number  of  women, 
and  that  in  most  cases  the  proportion  is  larger,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  conceive  of  the  immense  profits  to  the  exploiters, 
but  also  of  the  enormous  economic  waste,  the  widely  preva- 
lent physical  disease,  and  the  untold  misery  of  the  women 
who  sin,  and  of  the  innocent  women  at  home  who  are  sinned 
against  by  those  who  should  be  their  protectors. 

A  "white-slave  traffic"  seems  to  have  developed  in  recent 
years  that  has  not  only  increased  the  number  of  local 
prostitutes,  but  has  united  far-distant  urban  centres.  It  is 
very  difficult  to  prove  an  intercity  trade,  but  investigation 
has  produced  sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  there  is  an 
organized  business  of  procuring  victims  and  that  they  have 
been  exported  to  distant  parts  of  the  world,  including  South 
America,  South  Africa,  and  the  Far  East. 

89.  The   Causes. — The   social   evil   has   usually   been 
blamed  upon  the  perversity  of  women  and  their  pecuniary 
need,  but  investigation  makes  it  plain  that  the  causes  go 
deeper  than  that.     The  first  cause  is  the  ignorance  of  girls 
who  are  permitted  to  grow  up  and  go  out  into  the  world 
innocently,  unaware  of  the  snares  in  which  they  are  liable 
to  become  enmeshed.     Added  to  this  ignorance  is  the  lack 
of  moral  and  religious  training,  so  that  there  is  often  no 
firm  conviction  of  right  and  wrong,  an  evil  which  is  intensi- 


84         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

fied  in  the  city  tenements  by  the  conditions  of  congested 
population.  A  third  grave  cause  is  the  public  neglect  of 
persons  of  defective  mentality  and  morality.  Women  who 
are  not  capable  of  taking  care  of  themselves  are  allowed 
full  liberty  of  conduct,  and  frequently  fall  victims  to  the 
seducer.  An  investigation  of  cases  in  the  New  York  Re- 
formatory for  Women  at  Bedford  in  1913  showed  one-third 
very  deficient  mentally;  the  Massachusetts  Vice  Commis- 
sion in  1914  reported  one-half  to  three- fourths  of  three 
hundred  cases  to  be  of  the  same  class.  It  seems  clear  that 
a  large  proportion  of  prostitutes  generally  belong  in  this 
category.  It  has  been  estimated  that  there  are  now  (1915) 
as  many  defective  women  at  large  in  Massachusetts  as  there 
are  in  public  institutions. 

Poverty  is  an  important  factor  in  the  extension  of  the 
sexual  evil.  It  is  notorious  that  thousands  of  women 
workers  are  underpaid.  In  factories,  restaurants,  and  de- 
partment stores  they  frequently  receive  wages  much  less 
than  the  eight  dollars  a  week  required  by  women  to  main- 
tain themselves,  if  dependent  on  their  own  resources.  The 
American  woman's  pride  in  a  good  appearance,  the  natural 
human  love  of  ease,  luxury,  and  excitement,  the  craving 
for  relaxation  and  thrill,  after  the  exacting  labor  of  a  long 
day,  all  contribute  to  the  welcome  of  an  opportunity  for 
an  indulgence  that  brings  money  in  return.  The  agency  of 
the  dance-hall  and  the  saloon  has  also  an  important  place 
in  the  downfall  of  the  tempted.  Intemperance  and  prosti- 
tution go  together,  and  places  where  they  can  be  enjoyed 
are  factories  of  vice  and  crime.  Many  so-called  hotels  with 
bar  attachment  are  little  more  than  houses  of  evil  resort. 
Especially  notorious  for  a  time  were  the  Raines  Law  hotels 
in  New  York  City,  designed  to  check  intemperance,  but 
proving  nurseries  of  prostitution.  Commercial  profit  is  large 
from  both  kinds  of  traffic,  and  one  stimulates  the  other. 

Among  minor  causes  of  the  social  evil  is  the  postpone- 
ment or  abandonment  of  marriage  by  many  young  people, 
the  celibate  life  imposed  upon  students  and  soldiers,  the 
declaration  of  some  physicians  that  continence  is  injurious, 
and  lax  opinion,  especially  in  Europe. 


The  Social  Evil  85 

90.  The  Consequences. — It  is  impossible  to  measure 
adequately  the  consequences  of  sexual  indulgence.     It  is 
destructive  of  physical  health  among  women  and  of  morals 
among  both  sexes.     It  results  in  a  weakening  of  the  will 
and  a  blunting  of  moral  discernment.     It  is  an  economic 
waste,  as  is  intemperance,  for  even  on  the  level  of  economic 
values  it  is  plain  that  money  could  be  much  better  spent  for 
that  which  would  benefit  rather  than  curse.     But  the  great 
evil  that  looms  large  in  public  view  is  the  legacy  of  physical 
disease  that  falls  upon  self-indulgent  men  and  their  families. 
The  presence  of  venereal  disease  in  Europe  is  almost  un- 
believable; so  great  has  it  been  in  continental  armies  that 
governments  have  become  alarmed  as  to  its  effects  upon 
the  health  and  morale  of  the  troops.     College  men  have 
been  reckless  in  sowing  wild  oats,  and  have  suffered  serious 
physical  consequences.     Most  pathetic  is  the  suffering  that 
is  caused  to  innocent  wives  and  children  in  blindness,  steril- 
ity, and  frequent  abdominal  disease.     This  is  a  subject  that 
demands  the  attention  of  every  person  interested  in  human 
happiness  and  social  welfare. 

91.  History  of  Reform. — Spasmodic  efforts  to  suppress 
the  social  evil  have  occurred  from  time  to  time.     The  result 
has  been  to  scatter  rather  than  to  suppress  it,  and  after  a 
little  it  has  crept  back  to  its  old  haunts.     Scattering  it  in 
tenements  and  residential  districts  has  been  very  unfor- 
tunate.   The  cure  is  not  so  simple  a  process.     Neither  will 
segregation  help.     It  is  now  generally  agreed,  especially  as 
a  result  of  recent  investigations  by  vice  commissioners  in 
the  large  cities,  that  there  must  be  a  brave,  sustained  effort 
at  suppression,  and  then  the  patient  task  of  reclaiming  the 
fallen  and  preventing  the  evil  in  future. 

Organization  and  investigation  are  the  two  words  that 
give  the  key  to  the  history  of  reform.  International  socie- 
ties are  agitating  abroad;  other  associations  are  directly 
engaged  in  checking  vice  in  the  United  States,  most  promi- 
nent of  which  is  the  American  Vigilance  Association.  Res- 
cue organizations  are  scattered  through  the  cities.  Espe- 
cially active  have  been  the  commissions  of  investigation 
appointed  privately  and  by  municipal,  State,  and  Federal 


86         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

Governments,  which  have  issued  illuminating  reports.  The 
United  States  in  1908  joined  in  an  international  treaty  to 
prevent  the  world-wide  traffic  in  white  slaves,  and  in  1910 
Congress  passed  the  Mann  White  Slave  Act  to  prevent 
interstate  traffic  in  America. 

92.  Measures  of  Prevention  and  Cure. — The  social  evil 
is  one  about  which  there  have  been  all  sorts  of  wild  opinions, 
but  the  facts  are  becoming  well  substantiated  by  investi- 
gations, and  these  investigations  are  the  basis  upon  which 
all  scientific  conclusions  must  rest,  alike  for  public  educa- 
tion and  for  constructive  legislation.  No  one  remedy  is 
adequate.  There  are  those  who  believe  that  the  church 
has  it  in  its  power  to  stir  a  wave  of  indignation  that  would 
sweep  the  whole  traffic  from  the  land,  but  it  is  not  so  simple 
a  process.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  both  education  and 
legislation  are  necessary  to  check  the  evil.  The  first  is 
necessary  for  the  public  health,  and  to  support  repressive 
laws.  As  a  helpful  means  of  repression  it  is  proposed  that 
the  social  evil,  along  with  questions  of  social  morals,  like 
gambling,  excise,  and  amusements,  shall  be  taken  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  municipal  police  and  the  politicians,  and 
lodged  with  an  unpaid  morals  commission,  which  shall  have 
its  own  special  corps  of  expert  officers  and  a  morals  court 
for  the  trial  of  cases  appropriate  to  its  jurisdiction.  This 
experiment  actually  has  been  tried  in  Berlin.  Measures  of 
prevention  as  well  as  measures  of  repression  are  needed. 
Restraint  is  needed  for  defectives;  protection  for  immi- 
grants and  young  people,  especially  on  shipboard,  in  the 
tenements,  and  in  the  moving-picture  houses;  better  hous- 
ing, better  amusements,  and  better  wages  for  all  the  people. 
Finally,  the  wrecks  must  be  taken  care  of.  Rescue  homes 
and  other  agencies  manage  to  save  a  few  to  reformed  lives; 
homes  are  needed  constantly  for  temporary  residence.  Pri- 
vate philanthropy  has  provided  them  thus  far,  but  the 
United  States  Government  has  discussed  the  advisability  of 
building  them  in  sufficient  numbers  to  meet  every  local 
need.  Many  old  and  hardened  offenders  need  reformatories 
with  farm  and  hospital  where  they  can  be  cared  for  during 
a  long  time;  some  of  the  States  have  provided  these  already. 


The  Social  Evil  87 

The  principles  upon  which  a  permanent  cure  of  the  social 
evil  must  be  based  are  similar  to  those  that  underlie  all 
family  reform,  namely,  the  rescue  as  far  as  possible  of  those 
already  fallen,  the  social  and  moral  education  of  youth  to 
nobler  purpose  and  will,  the  removal  of  unfavorable  eco- 
nomic and  social  conditions,  and  the  improvement  of  family 
life  until  it  can  satisfy  the  human  cravings  that  legitimately 
belong  to  it. 

READING  REFERENCES 

ADDAMS:  A  New  Conscience  and  an  Ancient  Evil. 
WILLSON:  The  American  Boy  and  the  Social  Evil. 
MORROW:  Social  Diseases  and  Marriage,  pages  331-353. 
KNEELAND:  Commercialized  Prostitution  in  New  York  City,  pages 
253-271. 


CHAPTER  XII 
CHARACTERISTICS  AND   PRINCIPLES 

93.  Social  Characteristics  Illustrated  by  the  Family. — 
A  study  of  the  family  such  as  has  been  made  illustrates  the 
characteristics  of  social  life  that  were  noted  in  the  intro- 
ductory chapter.     There  is  activity  in  the  performance  of 
every  domestic,  economic,  and  social  function.     There  is 
association  in  various  ways  for  various  purposes  between  all 
members  of  the  family.     Control  is  exercised  by  paternal 
authority,  family  custom,  and  personal  and  family  interest. 
The  history  of  the  family  shows  gradual  changes  that  have 
produced  varieties  of  organization,  and  the  present  situa- 
tion   discloses    weaknesses    that    are    precipitating    upon 
society    very    serious    problems.     Present    characteristics 
largely  determine  future  processes;  always  in  planning  for 
the  future  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration  the 
forces  that  produce  and  alter  social  characteristics.     Spe- 
cific measures  meet  with  much  scepticism,  and  enthusiastic 
reformers  must  always  reckon  with  inertia,  frequent  reac- 
tions, and  slow  social  development.     In  the  face  of  sexual- 
ism,  divorce,  and  selfish  individualism,  it  requires  patience 
and  optimism  to  believe  that  the  family  will  continue  to 
exist  and  the  home  be  maintained. 

94.  Principles  of  Family  Reform. — It  is  probably  im- 
possible to  restore  the  home  life  of  the  past,  as  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  turn  back  the  tide  of  urban  migration  and  growth. 
But  it  is  possible  on  the  basis  of  certain  fundamental  prin- 
ciples to  improve  the  conditions  of  family  life  by  means  of 
methods  that  lie  at  hand.     The  first  principle  is  that  the 
home  must  function  properly.     There  must  be  domestic 
and  economic  satisfactions.    Without  the  satisfaction  of  the 
sexual  and  parental  instincts  and  an  atmosphere  of  com- 
fort and  freedom  from  anxiety,  the  home  is  emptied  of  its 

88 


Characteristics  and  Principles  89 

attractions.  The  second  principle  is  that  social  sympathy 
and  service  rather  than  individual  independence  shall  be 
the  controlling  motive  in  the  home.  As  long  as  every  mem- 
ber of  the  family  consults  first  his  own  pleasure  and  com- 
fort and  contributes  only  half-heartedly  to  create  a  home 
atmosphere  and  to  perform  his  part  of  the  home  functions, 
there  can  be  no  real  gain  in  family  life.  The  home  is  built 
on  love;  it  can  survive  on  nothing  less  than  mutual  consid- 
eration. 

95.  The  Method  of  Economic  Adjustment. — The  first 
method  by  which  these  principles  can  be  worked  out  is 
economic  adjustment.  It  is  becoming  imperative  that  the 
family  income  and  the  family  requirements  shall  be  fitted 
together.  Less  extravagance  and  waste  of  expenditure  and 
a  living  wage  to  meet  legitimate  needs,  are  both  demanded 
by  students  of  economic  reform.  It  is  not  according  to  the 
principles  of  social  righteousness  that  any  family  should 
suffer  from  cold  or  hunger,  nor  is  it  right  that  any  social 
group  should  be  wasteful  of  the  portion  of  economic  goods 
that  has  come  to  it.  There  is  great  need,  also,  that  the 
expense  of  living  should  be  reduced  while  the  standards  of 
living  shall  not  be  lowered.  The  business  world  has  been 
trying  to  secure  economies  in  production;  there  is  even 
greater  need  of  economies  in  distribution.  Millions  are 
wasted  in  advertising  and  in  the  profits  of  middlemen. 
Some  method  of  co-operative  buying  and  selling  will  have 
to  be  devised  to  stop  this  economic  leakage.  It  would 
relieve  the  housewife  from  some  of  the  worries  of  house- 
keeping and  lighten  the  heart  of  the  man  who  pays  the  bills. 
A  third  adjustment  is  that  of  the  household  employee  to 
the  remainder  of  the  household.  The  servant  problem  is 
first  an  economic  problem,  and  questions  of  wages,  hours, 
and  privileges  must  be  based  on  economic  principles;  but  it 
is  also  a  social  problem.  The  servant  bears  a  social  relation 
to  the  family.  The  family  home  is  her  home,  and  she  must 
have  a  certain  share  in  home  comforts  and  privileges.  A 
fourth  reform  is  better  housing  and  equipment.  Attractive 
and  comfortable  houses  in  a  wholesome  environment  of 
light,  air,  and  sunshine,  built  for  economical  and  easy  house- 


90         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

keeping,  are  not  only  desirable  but  essential  for  a  perma- 
nent and  happy  family  life. 

96.  The  Method  of  Social  Education. — A  second  general 
method  by  which  the  principles  of  home  life  may  be  carried 
out  is  social  education.  Given  the  material  accessories, 
there  must  be  the  education  of  the  family  in  their  use. 
Children  in  the  home  need  to  know  the  fundamentals  of 
personal  and  sex  hygiene  and  the  principles  of  eugenics. 
In  home  and  in  school  the  emphasis  in  education  should  be 
upon  social  rather  than  economic  values,  on  the  significance 
of  social  relationships  and  the  opportunities  of  social  inter- 
course hi  the  home  and  the  community,  on  the  personal 
and  social  advantages  of  intellectual  culture,  on  the  impor- 
tance of  moral  progress  in  the  elimination  of  drunkenness, 
sexualism,  poverty,  crime,  and  war,  if  there  is  to  be  future 
social  development,  and  on  the  value  of  such  social  institu- 
tions as  the  home,  the  school,  the  church,  and  the  state  as 
agencies  for  individual  happiness  and  group  progress.  Es- 
pecially should  there  be  impressed  upon  the  child  mind  the 
transcendent  importance  of  affectionate  co-operation  in  the 
home  circle,  parents  sacrificing  personal  preferences  and 
anticipations  of  personal  enjoyment  for  the  good  of  chil- 
dren, and  children  having  consideration  for  the  wishes  and 
convictions  of  their  elders,  and  recognizing  their  own  re- 
sponsibility in  rendering  service  for  the  common  good. 
Sanctioned  by  law,  by  the  custom  of  long  tradition,  by 
economic  and  social  valuations,  the  home  calls  for  personal 
devotion  of  will  and  purpose  from  every  individual  for  the 
welfare  of  the  group  of  which  he  is  a  privileged  member. 
The  family  tie  is  the  most  sacred  bond  that  links  individuals 
in  human  society;  to  strengthen  it  is  one  of  the  noblest 
aspirations  of  human  endeavor. 

READING  REFERENCES 

DEALEY:  The  Family  in  Its  Sociological  Aspects,  pages  119-134. 
POST:  Ethics  of  Marriage  and  Divorce,  pages  105-127. 
HOWARD:  History  of  Matrimonial  Institutions,  III,  pages  253-259. 
THWING:  The  Recovery  of  the  Home.    A  Pamphlet. 


PART  III— SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE   RURAL 
COMMUNITY 

CHAPTER  XIII 
THE   COMMUNITY  AND   ITS  HISTORY 

97.  Broadening  the  Horizon. — Out  of  the  kindergarten 
of  the  home  the  child  graduates  into  the  larger  school  of  the 
community.  Thus  far  through  his  early  years  the  child's 
environment  has  been  restricted  almost  entirely  to  the 
four  walls  of  the  home  or  the  limits  of  the  farm.  His 
horizon  has  been  bounded  by  garden,  pasture,  and  orchard, 
except  as  he  has  enjoyed  an  occasional  visit  to  the  village 
centre  or  has  found  playmates  on  neighboring  farms.  He 
has  shared  in  the  isolation  of  the  farm.  The  home  of  the 
nearest  neighbor  is  very  likely  out  of  sight  beyond  the  hill, 
or  too  far  away  for  children's  feet  to  travel  the  intervening 
distance;  on  the  prairie  the  next  door  may  be  over  the  edge 
of  the  horizon.  The  home  has  been  his  social  world.  It 
has  supplied  for  him  a  social  group,  persons  to  talk  with, 
to  play  with,  to  work  with.  Inevitably  he  takes  on  their 
characteristics,  and  his  life  will  continue  to  be  narrow  and 
to  grow  conservative  and  hard,  unless  he  enlarges  his  ex- 
perience, broadens  his  horizon,  tries  new  activities,  enjoys 
new  associations,  tests  new  methods  of  social  control,  and 
lets  the  forces  that  produce  social  change  play  upon  his  own 
life. 

Happy  is  he  when  he  enters  definitely  into  community 
life  by  taking  his  place  in  the  district  school.  The  school- 
house  may  be  at  the  village  centre  or  it  may  stand  aloof 
among  the  trees  or  stark  on  a  barren  hillside  along  the 
country  road ;  physical  environment  is  of  small  consequence 
as  compared  with  the  new  social  environment  of  the  school- 
room itself.  The  child  has  come  into  contact  with  others 

91 


92         Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  his  kind  in  a  permanent  social  institution  outside  the 
home,  and  this  social  contact  has  become  a  daily  experi- 
ence. Every  child  that  goes  to  school  is  one  of  many 
representatives  from  the  homes  of  the  neighborhood.  He 
brings  with  him  the  habits  and  ideas  that  he  has  gathered 
from  his  own  home,  and  he  finds  that  they  do  not  agree  or 
fuse  easily  with  the  ideas  and  habits  of  the  other  children. 
In  the  schoolroom  and  on  the  playground  he  repeats  the 
process  of  social  adjustments  which  the  race  has  passed 
through.  Conflicts  for  ascendancy  are  frequent.  He  must 
prove  his  physical  prowess  on  the  playground  and  his  in- 
tellectual ability  in  the  schoolroom.  He  must  test  his 
body  of  knowledge  and  the  value  of  his  mental  processes 
by  the  mind  of  his  teacher.  He  must  have  strength  of  con- 
viction to  defend  his  own  opinions,  but  he  must  have  an 
open  mind  to  receive  truths  that  are  new  to  him.  One  of 
the  great  achievements  of  the  school  is  to  fuse  dissimilar 
elements  into  common  custom  and  opinion,  and  thus  to 
socialize  the  independent  units  of  community  life. 

98.  Learning  Social  Values  in  the  Community. — The 
school  is  the  door  to  larger  social  opportunity  than  the 
home  can  provide,  but  it  is  not  the  only  door.  The  child  in 
passing  to  and  from  school  comes  into  touch  with  other 
institutions  and  activities.  He  passes  other  homes  than 
his  own.  He  sees  each  in  the  midst  of  its  own  peculiar 
surroundings,  and  he  makes  comparisons  of  one  with  an- 
other and  of  each  with  his  own.  He  estimates  more  or 
less  consciously  the  value  of  that  which  he  sees,  not  so 
much  in  terms  of  economic  as  of  social  worth,  and  congratu- 
lates or  pities  himself  or  his  schoolmates,  according  to  the 
judgments  that  he  has  made.  He  stops  at  the  store,  the 
mill,  or  the  blacksmith  shop,  through  frequent  contact 
becomes  familiar  with  their  functions,  and  thinks  in  turn 
that  he  would  like  to  be  storekeeper,  miller,  and  black- 
smith. He  sees  the  farmer  on  other  farms  than  his  own 
gathering  his  harvest  in  the  fall,  hauling  wood  in  the  win- 
ter, or  ploughing  his  field  in  the  spring,  and  he  becomes 
conscious  of  common  habits  and  occupations  in  this  rural 
community.  He  gets  acquainted  with  the  variety  of  ac- 


The  Community  and  Its  History  93 

tivities  that  enter  into  life  in  the  country  district  in  which 
his  home  is  located,  and  he  learns  to  appreciate  the  impor- 
tance of  the  instruments  upon  which  such  activity  depends 
for  travel  from  place  to  place.  By  all  these  means  the 
child  is  learning  social  values.  After  a  little  he  comes  to 
understand  that  the  community,  with  its  roads,  its  public 
buildings,  and  its  established  institutions,  exists  to  satisfy 
certain  economic  and  social  needs  that  the  single  family 
cannot  supply.  By  and  by  he  learns  that,  like  the  family, 
it  has  grown  out  of  the  experience  of  relationships,  and 
can  be  traced  far  back  in  history,  and  that  as  time  passes 
it  is  slowly  changing  to  adapt  itself  to  the  changing  wants 
and  wishes  of  its  inhabitants.  He  becomes  aware  of  a 
present  tendency  for  the  community  to  imitate  the  larger 
social  life  outside,  to  make  its  village  centre  a  reproduction 
in  miniature  of  the  urban  centres;  later  he  realizes  that  the 
introduction  of  foreign  elements  into  the  population  is 
working  for  the  destruction  of  the  simple,  unified  life  of 
former  days,  and  is  introducing  a  certain  flavor  of  cosmo- 
politanism. 

It  is  this  growth  of  social  consciousness  in  a  single  child, 
multiplied  by  the  number  of  children  in  the  community, 
that  constitutes  the  process  of  social  education.  A  com- 
munity with  no  dynamic  influences  impinging  upon  it 
reproduces  itself  in  this  way  generation  after  generation, 
and  at  best  seems  to  maintain  but  a  static  existence.  In 
reality,  few  communities  stand  still.  The  principle  of 
change  that  is  characteristic  of  social  life  is  continually 
working  to  build  up  or  tear  down  the  community  structure 
and  to  modify  community  functioning.  The  causes  of 
change  and  their  methods  of  operation  appear  in  the  history 
of  the  rural  community. 

99.  Rural  History. — The  history  of  the  rural  com- 
munity falls  into  two  periods — first,  when  the  village  was 
necessary  to  the  life  of  the  individual;  second,  when  the 
individual  pioneer  pushed  out  into  the  forest  or  prairie, 
and  the  village  followed  as  a  convenient  social  institution. 
The  community  came  into  existence  through  the  bond  of 
kinship.  Every  clan  formed  a  village  group  with  its  own 


94         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

peculiar  customs.  These  were  primitive,  even  among  semi- 
civilized  peoples.  Among  the  ancient  Hebrews  the  village 
elders  sat  by  the  gate  to  administer  justice  in  the  name  of 
the  clan;  in  China  the  old  men  still  bask  on  a  log  in  the 
sun  and  pronounce  judgment  in  neighborly  gossip.  The 
village  existed  for  sociability  and  safety.  The  mediaeval 
Germans  left  about  each  village  a  broad  strip  of  waste 
land  called  the  mark,  and  over  this  no  stranger  could  come 
as  a  friend  without  sounding  a  trumpet.  Later  the  village 
was  surrounded  by  a  wall  called  a  tun,  and  by  a  transfer 
of  terms  the  village  frequently  came  to  be  called  a  mark,  or 
tun,  later  changed  to  town.  Place  names  even  in  the 
United  States  are  often  survivals  of  such  a  custom,  as 
Charlestown  or  Chilmark.  The  Indian  village  in  colonial 
America  was  similarly  protected  with  a  palisade,  and  vil- 
lage dogs  heralded  the  approach  of  a  stranger,  as  they  do 
still  in  the  East. 

100.  The  Mediaeval  Village. — The  peasant  village  of  the 
Middle  Ages  constitutes  a  distinct  type  of  rural  community. 
A  consciousness  of  mutual  dependence  between  the  owner 
of  the  land  and  the  peasants  who  were  his  serfs  produced  a 
feudal  system  in  which  the  landlord  undertook  to  furnish 
protection  and  to  permit  the  peasant  to  use  portions  of 
his  land  in  exchange  for  service.  Strips  of  fertile  soil  were 
allotted  to  the  village  families  for  cultivation,  while  pasture- 
land,  meadow,  and  forest  were  kept  for  community  use. 
Even  in  the  heart  of  the  city  Boston  Common  remains  as  a 
relic  of  the  old  custom.  On  the  mediaeval  manor  people 
lived  and  worked  together,  most  of  them  on  the  same 
social  level,  the  lord  in  his  manor-house  and  the  peasants 
in  a  hamlet  or  larger  village  on  his  land,  huddling  together 
in  rude  huts  and  in  crude  fashion  performing  the  social  and 
economic  functions  of  a  rural  community.  In  the  village 
church  the  miller  or  the  blacksmith  held  his  head  a  little 
higher  than  his  neighbors,  and  sometimes  the  lord  of  the 
manor  did  not  deign  to  worship  in  the  common  parish 
church,  but  the  mass  of  the  people  were  fellow  serfs,  own- 
ing a  common  master,  working  at  the  same  tasks,  by  cus- 
tom sowing  and  reaping  the  same  kind  of  grain  on  the  same 


The  Community  and  Its  History  95 

kind  of  land  in  the  same  week  of  the  year.  They  attended 
the  court  of  the  master,  who  exercised  the  functions  of 
government.  They  worshipped  side  by  side  in  the  church. 
The  same  customs  bound  them  and  the  same  superstitions 
worried  their  waking  hours.  There  was  thus  a  community 
solidarity  that  less  commonly  exists  under  modern  condi- 
tions. 

There  was  no  stimulus  to  progress  on  the  manor  itself. 
There  were  no  schools  for  the  peasant's  children,  and  there 
was  little  social  intelligence.  The  finer  side  of  life  was 
undeveloped,  except  as  the  love  of  music  was  stirred  by 
the  travelling  bard,  or  martial  fervor  or  the  love  of  move- 
ment aroused  the  dance.  There  was  no  desire  for  religious 
independence  or  understanding  of  religious  experience. 
The  mass  in  the  village  church  satisfied  the  religious  in- 
stinct. There  was  no  dynamic  factor  in  the  community 
itself.  Besides  all  this,  the  community  lived  a  self-centred 
life,  because  the  people  manufactured  their  own  cloth  and 
leather  garments  and  most  of  the  necessary  tools,  and, 
except  for  a  few  commodities  like  iron  and  salt,  they  were 
independent  of  trade.  The  result  was  that  every  stimulus 
of  social  exchange  between  villages  was  lacking. 

The  broadening  influence  of  the  Crusades  with  their 
stimulus  to  thought,  their  creation  of  new  economic  wants, 
and  their  contact  of  races  and  nationalities,  set  in  motion 
great  changes.  Out  of  the  manorial  villages  went  ambitious 
individuals,  making  their  way  as  industrial  pioneers  to  the 
opportunity  of  the  larger  towns,  as  now  young  people  push 
out  from  the  country  to  the  city.  New  towns  were  founded 
and  new  enterprises  were  begun.  Trade  routes  were  opened 
up.  The  feudal  principality  grew  into  the  modern  state. 
Cultural  interests  demanded  their  share  of  attention. 
Schools  were  founded,  and  art  and  literature  began  again  to 
develop.  Even  law  and  religion,  most  conservative  among 
social  institutions,  underwent  change. 

10 1.  The  Village  in  American  History. — The  spirit  of 
enterprise  and  the  disturbed  political  and  religious  condi- 
tions impelled  many  groups  in  western  Europe  to  emigrate 
to  new  lands  after  the  geographical  discoveries  that  ushered 


96         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

in  the  sixteenth  century.  They  were  free  to  go,  for  serf- 
dom was  disappearing  from  most  of  the  European  countries. 
The  village  Hfe  of  Europe  was  transplanted  to  America. 
In  the  South  the  mediaeval  feudal  village  became  the  agri- 
cultural plantation,  where  the  planter  lived  on  his  own 
estate  surrounded  by  the  rude  cabins  of  his  dusky  peas- 
antry. The  more  democratic,  homogeneous  village  life  of 
middle-class  Englishmen  reproduced  itself  in  New  England, 
where  the  houses  of  the  settlers  clustered  about  the  village 
meeting-house  and  schoolhouse,  and  where  habits  of  in- 
dustry, frugality,  and  sobriety  characterized  every  local 
group.  In  this  new  village  life  there  came  to  be  a  stronger 
feeling  of  self-respect,  and  under  the  hard  conditions  of  life 
in  a  new  continent  there  developed  a  self-reliance  that  was 
destined  to  work  wonders  in  days  to  come.  The  New 
World  bred  a  spirit  of  independence  that  suited  well  the 
individualistic  philosophy  and  religion  of  the  modern  Eng- 
lishman. All  these  qualities  prophesied  much  of  individual 
achievement.  Yet  this  tendency  toward  individualism 
threatened  the  former  social  solidarity,  though  there  was  a 
recognition  of  mutual  interests  and  a  readiness  to  show 
neighborly  kindness  in  time  of  stress,  and  a  perception  of 
the  social  value  of  democracy  in  church  and  state. 

102.  Individual  Pioneering. — The  pioneer  American  col- 
onies were  group  settlements,  but  they  produced  a  new  race 
of  individual  pioneers  for  the  West.  Occasionally  a  whole 
community  emigrated,  but  usually  hardy,  venturesome  in- 
dividuals pushed  out  into  the  wilderness,  opening  up  the 
frontier  continually  farther  toward  the  setting  sun.  By  the 
brookside  the  pioneer  made  a  clearing  and  erected  his  log 
house;  later  on  the  unbroken  prairie  he  built  a  rude  hut  of 
sod.  On  the  land  that  was  his  by  squatter's  right  or  gov- 
ernment claim  he  planted  and  reaped  his  crops.  About 
him  grew  up  a  brood  of  children,  and  as  the  years  passed, 
others  like  himself  followed  in  the  path  that  he  had  made, 
single  men  to  work  for  a  time  as  hired  laborers,  families  to 
break  new  ground,  until  the  countryside  became  sparsely 
settled  and  the  nucleus  of  a  village  was  made. 

Such  pioneers  were  hard-working  people,  lonely  and  in- 


The  Community  and  Its  History  97 

trospective.  They  knew  little  of  the  comforts  and  none  of 
the  refinements  of  life.  They  prescribed  order  and  admin- 
istered justice  at  the  weapon's  point.  They  were  emo- 
tional in  religion.  They  required  the  stimulus  of  abun- 
dant food  and  often  of  strong  drink  to  goad  them  to  their 
various  tasks.  Frontier  pioneering  in  America  reproduced 
many  of  the  features  of  former  ages  of  primitive  life  and 
compressed  centuries  into  the  space  of  a  generation.  It 
was  distinctly  individualistic,  and  needed  socializing.  The 
large  farm  or  cattle-range  kept  men  apart,  the  freedom  of 
the  open  country  attracted  an  unruly  population,  and  in 
consequence  frontier  life  tended  to  rough  manners  and  law- 
lessness. Isolation  and  loneliness  produced  despondency 
and  inertia,  and  tended  to  individual  and  group  degenera- 
tion. 

Even  in  a  growing  village  men  and  women  of  this  type 
had  few  social  institutions.  There  was  little  time  for 
schooling  or  recreation.  A  circuit-riding  preacher  held 
religious  services  once  or  twice  a  month,  and  in  certain 
regions  at  a  certain  season  religious  enthusiasm  found  vent 
in  a  camp-meeting,  but  religion  often  had  little  effect  on 
habits  and  morals.  Local  government  and  industry  were 
home-made.  The  settlers  brought  with  them  customs  and 
traditions  which  they  cherished,  but  in  the  mingling  of 
pioneers  from  different  districts  there  was  continual  change 
and  fusion,  until  the  West  became  the  most  enterprising 
and  progressive  part  of  the  nation,  continually  open  to  new 
ideas  and  new  methods.  There  was  a  wholesome  respect 
for  church  and  school,  and  as  villages  grew  the  settlers  did 
not  neglect  the  organization  and  housing  of  such  institu- 
tions; store,  mill,  and  smithy  found  their  place  as  farther 
east,  and  later  the  lawyer  and  physician  came,  but  the 
pioneer  could  do  without  them  for  a  time.  Inventiveness 
and  individual  initiative  were  characteristics  of  the  rural 
people,  made  necessary  by  their  remoteness  and  isolation. 

103.  The  Development  of  the  West. — With  increasing 
settlement  the  rural  pioneer  gave  place  to  the  farmer.  It 
was  no  longer  necessary  for  him  to  break  new  ground,  for 
arable  acres  could  be  purchased;  neither  was  it  necessary 


98         Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

to  turn  from  one  occupation  to  another  to  satisfy  personal 
or  household  needs,  for  division  of  labor  provided  specialists. 
Hardship  gave  way  to  comfort,  for  the  land  was  fertile  and 
experience  had  taught  its  values  for  the  cultivation  of  par- 
ticular crops.  Loneliness  and  isolation  were  felt  less 
severely  as  neighbors  bec'ame  more  frequent  and  travelled 
roads  made  communication  easier.  Group  life  expanded 
and  institutions  became  fixed.  Every  neighborhood  had 
its  school-teacher,  and  even  the  academy  and  college  began 
to  dot  the  land.  Churches  of  various  denominations  found 
root  in  rural  soil,  and  a  settled  minister  became  more  com- 
mon. A  general  store  and  post-office  found  place  at  the 
cross-roads,  and  the  permanent  machinery  of  local  govern- 
ment was  set  up.  Out  of  the  forest  clearings  and  prairie 
settlements  evolved  the  prosperous  farm  life  that  has  been 
so  characteristic  of  the  Middle  West. 

But  the  prosperous  life  of  these  rural  communities  has 
not  remained  unchanged.  Speculation  in  land  has  been 
creating  a  class  of  non-resident  agricultural  capitalists  and 
tenant  cultivators,  and  has  been  transforming  the  type  of 
agricultural  population  over  large  sections  of  country.  Soil 
exhaustion  is  leading  to  abandonment  of  the  poorest  land 
and  is  compelling  methods  of  scientific  agriculture  on  the 
remainder.  These  conditions  are  producing  their  own 
social  problems  for  the  rural  community. 

READING  REFERENCES 

SMALL  AND  VINCENT:  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Society,  pages 
112-126. 

CHEYNEY:  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England,  pages  31-56. 

CUBBERLEY:  Rural  Life  and  Education,  pages  1-62. 

WILSON:  Evolution  of  the  Country  Community,  pages  1-61. 

CARVER:  Principles  of  Rural  Economics,  pages  74-116. 

Ross:  "The  Agrarian  Revolution  in  the  Middle  West,"  North 
American  Review,  September,  1909. 

GILLETTE:  "The  Drift  to  the  City  in  Relation  to  the  Rural  Prob- 
lem," American  Journal  of  Sociology,  March,  1911. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

104.  Physical  Types. — To  understand  the  continually 
changing  rural  life  of  the  present,  it  is  necessary  to  examine 
into  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  country  districts, 
the  elements  of  the  population,  the  functions  of  the  rural 
community,  and  its  social  institutions. 

The  physical  characteristics  have  a  large  part  in  deter- 
mining occupations  and  in  fashioning  social  life.  A  natural 
harbor,  especially  if  it  is  at  the  mouth  of  a  river,  seems 
destined  by  nature  for  a  centre  of  commerce,  as  the  falls  of 
a  swift-flowing  stream  indicate  the  location  of  a  manufac- 
turing plant.  A  mineral-bearing  mountain  invites  to  min- 
ing, and  miles  of  forest  land  summon  the  lumberman. 
Broad  and  well- watered  plains  seem  designed  for  agricul- 
ture, and  on  them  acres  of  grain  slowly  mature  through  the 
summer  months  to  turn  into  golden  harvests  in  the  fall. 
The  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Western  plain  into  which  it 
blends  have  become  the  granary  of  the  American  nation. 
The  railroad-train  that  rushes  day  and  night  from  the 
Great  Lakes  toward  the  setting  sun  moves  hour  after  hour 
through  the  extensive  rural  districts  that  characterize  the 
great  West.  There  are  the  mammoth  farms  that  are  given 
to  the  one  enormous  crop  of  wheat  or  corn.  Alongside  the 
railroad  loom  the  immense  elevators  where  the  grain  is 
stored  to  be  shipped  to  market.  Here  and  there  are  the 
farm-buildings  where  the  owner  or  tenant  lives,  but  villages 
are  small  and  scattered  and  community  activity  is  slight. 

Similarly,  in  the  South  before  the  Civil  War  there  were 
large  plantations  of  cotton  and  tobacco,  dotted  only  here 
and  there  with  the  planter's  mansion  and  clumps  of  negro 
cabins.  Village  life  was  not  a  characteristic  of  Southern 
society.  The  old  South  had  its  picturesque  plantation  life, 
and  the  aristocracy  made  its  sociable  visits  from  family  to 

09 


100       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

family,  but  that  rural  type  disappeared  with  the  war. 
With  the  breaking  up  of  the  old  plantations  there  came  a 
greater  diversification  of  agriculture,  which  is  going  on  at 
an  accelerated  pace,  and  social  centres  are  increasing,  but 
there  is  still  much  rural  isolation.  Among  the  remoter 
mountains  lingers  the  most  conservative  American  type  of 
citizens  in  the  arrested  development  of  a  century  ago,  with 
antique  tools  and  ancient  methods,  scratching  a  few  acres 
for  a  garden  and  corn-field,  and  living  their  backward,  iso- 
lated fife,  without  comfort  or  even  peace,  and  almost  with- 
out social  institutions. 

In  the  East  the  country  is  more  broken.  Large  farms 
are  few,  and  agriculture  is  carried  on  intensively  as  a  busi- 
ness, or  is  united  with  another  occupation  or  as  a  diversion 
from  the  cares  and  tasks  of  the  town.  Farms  of  a  score  to 
a  few  hundred  acres,  only  part  of  which  are  cultivated, 
form  rural  communities  among  the  hills  or  along  a  river 
valley.  Here  and  there  a  few  houses  cluster  in  village  or 
hamlet,  where  each  house  yard  has  its  garden  patch,  but 
the  inhabitants  of  the  village  depend  on  other  means  than 
agriculture  for  a  living.  On  the  farms  dairy  and  poultry 
products  share  with  agriculture  in  rural  importance,  and 
no  one  crop  constitutes  an  agricultural  staple.  In  New 
England  the  villages  are  comparatively  near  together,  and 
social  life  needs  only  prodding  to  produce  a  healthy  devel- 
opment. 

105.  Characteristics  of  Population. — Rural  life  feels  in 
each  region  the  reactions  of  nature.  The  narrow  life  of 
the  hills,  the  open  life  of  the  plains,  the  peaceful  life  of  the 
comfortable  plantation  with  its  lazy  river  and  its  delightful 
climate,  each  has  its  peculiar  characteristics  that  are  due 
in  part  at  least  to  nature.  But  these  features  are  compli- 
cated by  social  elements  of  population.  The  American 
rural  community  of  to-day  is  composed  of  individuals  who 
differ  in  age  and  fortune  and  kinship,  and  who  vary  in 
qualities  and  resemblances.  There  are  old  and  young  and 
middle-aged  persons,  men  and  women,  married  and  single, 
persons  with  many  relatives  and  others  with  few,  native 
and  foreign  born,  strong  and  weak,  well  and  ill,  good  and 


The  Land  and  the  People  101 

bad,  educated  and  illiterate.  Yet  there  are  certain  char- 
acteristics that  are  typical. 

In  the  first  place,  for  example,  there  is  a  considerable 
uniformity  of  age  in  the  population  of  a  certain  type  of 
community.  In  those  agricultural  districts  where  indi- 
viduals own  their  own  homes,  the  number  of  elderly  people 
is  larger  than  it  is  in  the  city,  and  the  young  people  are 
comparatively  few,  for  the  reason  that  their  ambitions 
carry  them  to  the  city  for  its  larger  opportunities,  and  in 
the  older  States  many  a  farm  becomes  abandoned  on  the 
death  of  the  old  people.  In  districts  where  tenant-farming 
is  largely  in  vogue,  gray  hairs  are  much  fewer.  The  ten- 
dency is  for  the  original  farmers  who  have  been  successful 
to  sell  or  rent  their  property  and  move  to  town  to  enjoy 
its  comforts  and  attractions,  leaving  the  tenants  and  their 
families  of  children. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  characteristic  of  long-settled 
rural  communities  that  there  is  an  interlocking  of  family 
relationship,  with  a  number  of  prevailing  family  names  and 
a  great  preponderance  of  native  Americans;  but  in  portions 
of  the  West  and  in  rural  districts  not  very  remote  from  the 
large  cities  of  the  East  there  is  a  large  mixture,  and  in  spots 
a  predominance  of  the  foreign  element.  In  the  third  place, 
small  means  rather  than  wealth  and  a  sluggish  contentment 
rather  than  ambition  is  characteristic  of  the  older  rural 
sections;  in  newer  districts  ambition  to  push  ahead  is  more 
common,  and  prosperity  and  an  air  of  opulence  are  not 
unusual. 

106.  The  Composition  of  Rural  Communities. — In  an 
analysis  of  population  it  is  proper  to  consider  its  compo- 
sition and  its  manner  of  growth.  In  making  a  survey  or 
taking  a  census  of  a  community  there  are  included  at  least 
statistics  as  to  age,  sex,  number  and  size  of  families,  degree 
of  kinship,  race  parentage,  and  occupations.  Records  of 
age,  sex,  and  size  of  family  show  the  tendencies  of  a  com- 
munity as  to  growth  or  race  suicide;  kinship  and  race  par- 
entage indicate  whether  population  is  homogeneous;  and 
occupations  indicate  the  place  that  agriculture  holds  in  a 
particular  section  of  country.  By  a  comparative  study  of 


102        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

statistics  it  is  easy  to  determine  whether  a  community  is 
advancing,  retrograding,  or  standing  still,  and  what  its 
position  is  relative  to  its  neighbors;  also  to  find  out  whether 
or  not  its  occupations  and  characteristics  are  changing. 

107.  Manner  of  Growth. — The  manner  of  growth  of  a 
community  is  by  natural  excess  of  births  over  deaths,  and 
by  immigration  of  persons  from  outside.    As  long  as  the 
former  condition  obtains,  population  is  homogeneous,  and 
the  community  is  conservative  in  customs  and  beliefs; 
when  immigration  is  extensive,  and  more  especially  when 
it  goes  on  at  the  same  time  with  a  declining  birth-rate  and 
a  considerable  emigration  of  the  native  element,  the  popu- 
lation is  becoming  heterogeneous,  and  the  customs  and 
interests  of  the  people  are  growing  continually  more  diver- 
gent.    The  immigration  of  an  earlier  day  was  from  one 
American  community  to  another,  or  from  northern  Europe, 
but  rural  communities  East  and  West  are  feeling  the  effects 
of  the  large  foreign  immigration  of  the  last  decade  from 
southern  and  eastern  Europe  and  from  Asia. 

108.  Decline  of  the  Rural  Population. — The  rural  exodus 
to  the  cities  is  even  more  impressive  and  more  serious  in  its 
consequences  than  the  foreign  influx  into  the  country, 
though  both  are  dynamic  in  their  effects.    This  exodus  is 
partly  a  matter  of  numbers  and  partly  of  quality.    A  dis- 
tinction must  be  made  first  between  the  relative  loss  and 
the  actual  loss.     The  rural  population  in  places  of  less  than 
twenty-five  hundred  persons  is  steadily  falling  behind  in 
proportion  to  the  urban  population  in  the  country  at  large. 
There  are  many  localities  where  there  is  also  an  actual  loss 
in  population,  and  in  the  North  and  Middle  West  the  States 
generally  are  making  no  rural  gain.     But  the  most  dis- 
heartening element  in  the  movement  of  population  from 
the  point  of  view  of  rural  communities  is  the  loss  of  the 
most  substantial  of  the  older  citizens,  who  move  to  the  city 
to  enjoy  the  reward  of  years  of  toil,  and  of  the  most  ambi- 
tious of  the  young  people  who  hope  to  get  on  faster  in  the 
city.    Loss  of  such  as  these  means  loss  of  competent,  pro- 
gressive leaders.    Added  to  this  is  the  loss  of  laborers  needed 
to  cultivate  the  farms  to  their  capacity  for  urban  as  well 


The  Land  and  the  People  103 

as  rural  supply.  The  loss  of  labor  is  not  a  serious  economic 
misfortune,  for  it  can  be  remedied  to  a  large  extent  by  the 
introduction  of  more  machinery  and  new  methods,  but  the 
loss  of  population  reproduces  in  a  measure  the  isolation  of 
earlier  days,  and  so  tends  to  social  degeneration.  It  is  idle 
to  expect  that  the  far-reaching  causes  that  are  contributing 
to  city  growth  will  stop  working  for  the  sake  of  the  rural 
community,  but  it  is  possible  to  enrich  community  life  so 
that  there  will  be  less  relative  attraction  in  the  city,  and 
so  that  those  who  remain  may  enjoy  many  of  the  advan- 
tages that  hitherto  have  been  associated  with  the  city  alone. 

READING   REFERENCES 

HART:  Educational  Resources  of  Village  and  Rural  Communities, 
pages  11-37. 

GILLETTE:  Rural  Sociology,  pages  32-46,  281-292. 

ANDERSON:  The  Country  Town,  pages  57-91. 

SEMPLE:  Influences  of  Geographic  Environment. 

GALPIN:  "Method  of  Making  a  Social  Survey  in  a  Rural  Com- 
munity," University  of  Wisconsin  Circular  of  Information, 
No.  29. 

CARROLL:  The  Community  Survey. 


CHAPTER  XV 
OCCUPATIONS 

109.  Rural  Occupations. — An  important  part  of  the 
study  of  the  rural  community  is  its  social  functions.  These 
do  not  differ  greatly  in  name  from  the  functions  of  the 
family,  but  they  have  wider  scope.  The  domestic  functions 
are  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  homes.  The  village 
usually  includes  a  boarding-house  or  a  country  inn  for  the 
homeless  few,  and  here  and  there  an  almshouse  shelters  the 
few  derelicts  whom  the  public  must  support. 

Economic  activities  in  the  main  are  associated  with  the 
farm  home.  The  common  occupation  in  the  country  is 
agriculture.  Individuals  are  born  into  country  homes, 
learn  the  common  occupation,  and  of  necessity  in  most 
cases  make  it  their  means  of  livelihood.  Rural  people  are 
accustomed  to  hard  labor  for  long  hours.  There  are  sea- 
sons when  comparative  inactivity  renders  life  dull;  there 
are  individuals  who  enjoy  pensions  or  the  income  of  in- 
herited or  accumulated  funds,  and  so  are  not  compelled  to 
resort  to  manual  labor,  and  there  are  directors  of  agricul- 
tural industry;  there  are  always  a  shiftless  few  who  are 
lazy  and  poor;  but  these  are  only  exceptions  to  the  general 
rule  of  active  toil.  Not  all  rural  districts  are  agricultural. 
Some  are  frontier  settlements  where  lumbering  or  mining 
are  the  chief  interests.  Even  where  agriculture  prevails 
there  are  varieties  such  as  corn-raising  or  fruit-growing 
regions;  there  are  communities  that  are  progressively  mak- 
ing use  of  the  latest  results  of  scientific  agriculture,  and 
communities  that  are  almost  as  antique  in  their  methods 
as  the  ancient  Hebrews.  Also,  even  in  homogeneous  dis- 
tricts, like  those  devoted  to  cotton-growing  or  tobacco-cul- 
ture, there  are  always  individuals  who  choose  or  inherit  an 
occupation  that  supplies  a  special  want  to  the  community, 
such  as  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  and  masters  of  other 

104 


Occupations  105 

crafts.  Occupations  indicate  an  attempt  to  gear  personal 
energies  to  the  opportunities  or  requirements  of  a  physical 
or  social  environment. 

All  these  occupations  have  more  than  economic  value; 
they  are  fundamental  to  social  prosperity.  It  is  self- 
evident  that  the  physician  and  the  school-teacher  render 
community  service,  but  it  is  not  so  clear  that  the  farmer 
who  keeps  his  house  well  painted  and  his  grounds  in  order, 
and  who  is  improving  his  cattle  and  increasing  the  yield 
of  his  fields  and  woodland  by  scientific  methods,  and  who 
organizes  his  neighbors  for  co-operative  endeavor,  is  doing 
more  than  an  economic  service.  Yet  it  is  by  means  of 
inspiration,  information,  and  co-operation  that  the  com- 
munity moves  forward,  and  he  who  supplies  these  is  a 
social  benefactor. 

no.  Differentiation  of  Occupation. — If  community  life 
is  to  continue  there  must  be  the  producers  who  farm  or 
mine  or  manufacture;  in  rural  districts  they  are  farmers, 
hired  laborers,  woodcutters,  threshers,  and  herdsmen.  In 
the  co-operation  of  village  life  there  must  be  the  craftsmen 
and  tradesmen  who  finish  and  distribute  the  products  that 
the  others  have  secured,  such  as  the  miller,  the  carpenter, 
the  teamster,  and  the  storekeeper.  For  comfort  and  peace 
in  the  neighborhood  there  must  be  added  the  physician, 
the  minister,  the  school-teacher,  the  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  such  public  functionaries  as  postmaster,  mail-carrier, 
stage-driver,  constable  or  sheriff,  and  other  town  or  county 
officials.  Without  specific  allotment  of  lands  as  on  the 
feudal  estate,  or  distribution  of  tasks  as  in  a  socialistic  com- 
monwealth, the  community  accomplishes  a  natural  division 
of  labor  and  diversification  of  industry,  supports  its  own  in- 
stitutions by  self-imposed  taxes  and  voluntary  contributions, 
and  supplies  its  quota  to  the  larger  State  of  which  it  forms 
a  democratic  part.  In  spite  of  the  constant  exercise  of  indi- 
vidual independence  and  competition,  there  is  at  the  founda- 
tion of  every  rural  community  the  principle  of  co-operation 
and  service  as  the  only  working  formula  for  human  life. 

in.  Co-operation. — One  great  advantage  of  community 
life  over  the  home  is  the  increased  opportunity  for  co- 


106       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

operation.  In  new  communities  families  work  together  to 
erect  buildings,  make  roads,  support  schools,  and  organize 
and  maintain  a  church.  They  aid  each  other  in  sickness, 
accident,  and  distress.  Farmers  find  it  profitable  to  unite 
for  purposes  of  production,  distribution,  communication, 
transportation,  and  insurance.  It  may  not  seem  worth 
while  for  a  single  farmer  to  buy  an  expensive  piece  oi 
agricultural  machinery  for  his  own  use,  but  it  is  well  worth 
while  for  four  or  five  to  club  together  and  buy  it.  The  cost 
of  an  irrigation  plant  is  much  too  high  for  one  man,  but  a 
community  can  afford  it  when  it  will  add  materially  to  the 
production  of  all  the  farms  in  a  district.  In  a  region  inter- 
ested mainly  in  dairying  a  co-operative  creamery  can  be 
made  very  profitable;  in  grain-producing  sections  co- 
operative elevator  service  makes  possible  the  storage  of 
grain  until  the  demand  increases  values;  in  fruit-raising 
regions  co-operation  in  selling  has  made  the  difference  be- 
tween success  and  failure.  A  co-operative  telephone  com- 
pany has  been  the  means  of  supplying  several  adjacent  com- 
munities with  easy  communication.  Co-operative  banks 
are  a  convenient  means  of  securing  capital  for  agricultural 
use,  and  co-operative  insurance  companies  have  proved 
serviceable  in  carrying  mutual  risks. 

The  advantages  of  such  co-operation  are  by  no  means 
confined  to  economic  interests.  The  best  result  is  the  in- 
creasing realization  of  mutual  dependence  and  common 
concern.  Co-operation  is  an  antidote  to  the  evils  of  isola- 
tion and  independence.  A  co-operative  telephone  company 
may  not  pay  large  dividends,  and  may  eventually  sell  out 
to  a  larger  corporation,  but  it  has  introduced  people  to  one 
another,  brightened  circumscribed  lives,  and  taught  the 
people  social  understanding  and  sympathy.  But  aside 
from  all  such  artificial  forms  of  co-operation,  the  very  cus- 
tom of  providing  such  common  institutions  as  the  school 
and  the  church  is  a  valuable  form  of  social  service,  entirely 
apart  from  the  specific  results  that  come  from  the  exercises 
of  the  schoolroom  and  the  meeting-house. 

112.  Why  Co-operation  May  Fail. — Many  co-operative 
enterprises  fail,  and  this  is  not  strange.  There  is  always 


Occupations  107 

the  natural  conservatism  and  individualism  of  the  American 
people  to  contend  with;  there  is  jealousy  of  the  men  who 
have  been  elected  to  responsible  offices,  and  there  is  lack  of 
experience  and  good  judgment  by  those  who  undertake  to 
engineer  the  active  organization.  Sometimes  the  method 
of  organization  or  financing  is  faulty.  Such  enterprises 
work  best  among  foreigners  who  have  a  good  opinion  of 
them,  and  know  how  to  conduct  them  because  they  have 
seen  them  work  well  in  Europe.  Every  successful  attempt 
at  economic  co-operation  is  a  distinct  gain  for  rural  com- 
munity betterment,  for  upon  co-operation  depends  the 
success  of  the  efforts  being  put  forth  for  rural  improvement 
generally. 

113.  Competition  Within  the  Group. — Co-operation  is 
of  greatest  value  when  it  includes  within  it  a  wholesome 
amount  of  individual  competition  for  the  sake  of  general  as 
well  as  individual  gain.  Boys'  agricultural  clubs,  organized 
in  the  South  and  West,  have  raised  the  standards  of  corn 
and  tomato  production  by  stimulating  a  friendly  spirit  of 
rivalry  among  boys,  and  as  a  result  the  fathers  of  the  boys 
have  adopted  new  and  more  scientific  methods  to  increase 
their  own  production.  Agricultural  fairs  may  be  made 
powerful  agencies  for  a  similar  stimulus.  At  State  and 
county  fairs  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations 
find  it  worth  while  to  exhibit  their  methods  and  processes 
with  the  results  obtained;  wide-awake  farmers  get  new 
ideas,  which  they  try  out  subsequently  at  home;  young 
people  are  encouraged  to  try  for  the  premiums  offered  the 
next  year,  and  steadily  the  general  level  of  excellence  rises 
throughout  the  district. 

READING  REFERENCES 

MCKEEVER:  Farm  Boys  and  Girls,  pages  171-196,  275-305. 

GILLETTE:  Rural  Sociology,  pages  20-31. 

"Country  Life,"  Annals  of  American  Academy,  pages  58-68. 

KERN:  Among  Country  Schools,  pages  129-157. 

FORD:  Co-operation  in  New  England,  pages  87-185. 

COULTER:  Co-operation  Among  Farmers,  pages  3-23. 

HERRICK:  Rural  Credits,  pages  456-480. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
RECREATION 

114.  Recreation  and  Culture. — Besides  the  economic 
function  the  community  has  recreative  and  cultural  func- 
tions to  perform,  and  these  need  recognition  and  improve- 
ment. As  the  child  in  the  home  has  a  right  to  time  and 
means  for  play,  so  the  community,  especially  the  young  peo- 
ple, may  lay  claim  to  an  opportunity  for  recreation ;  as  the 
child  has  the  right  to  learn  in  the  home,  so  the  people  of 
the  community  should  have  cultural  privileges.  These  de- 
mands are  the  more  imperative,  because  the  city  has  so 
much  of  this  sort  to  offer,  and  the  country  community 
cannot  hold  its  young  people  unless  it  provides  a  reason- 
able amount  of  attractions.  It  needs  no  particular  institu- 
tion to  bring  this  about,  but  it  needs  a  new  spirit  to  recog- 
nize and  enjoy  the  advantages  that  are  possible  even  in 
thinly  settled  localities.  Every  opportunity  for  sociability 
strengthens  just  so  much  a  natural  instinct,  increases  the 
sense  of  social  values,  and  enlarges  the  sphere  of  relation- 
ships. 

In  the  community,  as  in  the  home,  children  have  the 
first  claim  to  consideration.  The  recreative  impulse  is 
strong  in  them.  When  they  graduate  from  the  home  into 
the  school  they  find  opportunity  for  the  expression  of  this 
impulse  through  their  new  associations.  On  the  way  to 
and  from  school  and  at  recess  they  have  opportunity  to 
indulge  their  impulses  and  to  use  their  powers  of  invention. 
Among  the  younger  children  the  desire  for  muscular  activity 
makes  running  games  of  all  sorts  popular;  as  boys  grow 
older  they  imitate  the  primitive  impulse  to  hit  and  run,  so 
well  provided  for  in  games  of  ball;  girls  enjoy  their  recrea- 
tion in  a  quieter  way  as  they  grow  older,  and  show  a  ten- 
dency to  association  in  pairs.  Associations  formed  in  play 
are  not  usually  lasting  ones,  but  the  playground  reveals 

108 


Recreation  109 

individual  temperament  and  personal  qualities  that  are 
likely  to  determine  popularity  or  unpopularity.  These 
play  associations  develop  qualities  of  leadership,  loyalty, 
honesty,  and  co-operation  that  tend  to  label  a  child  among 
his  mates  with  a  reputation  that  he  carries  into  later  life. 

115.  The  Gang. — Since  play  is  a  natural  instinct  it  is 
to  be  expected  that  children  will  seek  a  natural  rather  than 
an  artificial  way  of  expressing  the  instinct.  Organization 
at  best  can  only  direct  activities,  giving  recognition  to  the 
social  inclinations  of  childhood.  For  example,  it  is  not 
easy  for  a  school-teacher  to  organize  a  boys'  society  and 
to  direct  it  in  such  activities  as  appeal  to  him.  The  boys 
prefer  to  choose  their  own  mates  and  their  own  chief,  and 
the  activities  that  appeal  to  them  are  not  the  same  as 
those  that  seem  to  their  elders  to  be  most  suitable.  Be- 
tween the  ages  of  ten  and  sixteen  the  boy  tends  to  gang 
life.  He  may  work  on  the  farm  all  day,  but  evenings  and 
Sundays,  if  he  is  permitted  to  amuse  himself,  he  joins  a 
gang.  Obviously  the  characteristics  of  the  gang  are  seen 
best  in  the  city,  but  they  are  not  materially  different  in  the 
country.  Hunting  and  fishing  may  be  enjoyed  at  odd 
times  of  leisure  by  the  boy  without  companions,  but  the 
delights  of  the  swimming-hole  can  be  enjoyed  thoroughly 
only  as  he  has  the  companionship  of  other  boys,  and  skating 
gains  in  virtue  as  a  sport  with  the  possibility  of  hockey  on 
the  ice.  This  liking  for  companionship  exhibits  itself  in 
the  habitual  association  of  boys  of  a  certain  district  for 
mutual  enjoyment.  On  every  possible  opportunity  they 
get  together  in  the  woods,  pretend  they  are  Indians,  hunt, 
fish,  and  fight  in  company,  build  their  own  camps  and 
plunder  the  camps  of  other  gangs,  and  practise  other  activi- 
ties characteristic  of  the  savage  age  through  which  they 
are  passing.  Gangs  exhibit  a  love  of  cruelty  to  those 
whom  they  may  plague,  a  fondness  for  appropriating  prop- 
erty which  does  not  belong  to  them,  and  if  possible  provok- 
ing chase  for  the  sake  of  the  thrill  that  comes  from  the 
attempt  to  get  away.  Group  athletics  of  various  sorts  are 
popular.  Six  out  of  seven  gangs  have  physical  activities 
as  the  purpose  of  their  organization.  The  boys  do  not 


110       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

necessarily  adopt  any  particular  organization  or  choose  a 
leader;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  a  natural  group,  tacitly 
acknowledging  the  leadership  of  the  most  masterly  and 
versatile  individual,  finding  their  own  headquarters  and 
adopting  the  forms  of  activity  that  appeal  most  to  the 
group,  according  to  the  season  and  the  opportunities  of  the 
region  of  country  where  they  belong. 

116.  Leadership  of  Boys. — The  gang  is  but  one  expres- 
sion of  the  group  instinct.     It  is  often  a  nursery  of  bad 
habits  that  sometimes  lead  to  crime  and  degeneracy,  but 
it  is  capable  of  being  used  for  the  good  of  boyhood.     The 
gang  develops  the  virtues  of  loyalty  to  the  group  and  loy- 
alty to  the  group  principles.     It  stimulates  self-sacrifice 
and  co-operation,  honor  and  courage.     These  virtues  can 
be  cultivated  by  the  man  who  aspires  to  boy  leadership 
and  directed  into  channels  of  usefulness  as  the  boy  passes 
on  toward  manhood.    But  there  must  be  a  frank  recogni- 
tion of  the  place  of  the  gang  in  boy  life,  and  not  only  a 
remembrance  of  one's  own  boyhood  days,  but  also  an 
appreciation  of  them.     One  of  the  best  ways  that  has  been 
devised  for  securing  adult  leadership  without  loss  of  the 
gang  spirit  and  characteristics  is  the  Boy  Scout  movement. 
It  transforms  the  unorganized  gang  into  the  organized 
patrol,  and  affiliates  it  with  other  patrols  in  a  wide  organi- 
zation, adopts  the  natural  activities  of  boys  as  a  part  of  its 
programme,  and  adds  others  of  absorbing  interest.    Obedi- 
ence is  added  to  the  boy's  other  virtues,  and  social  educa- 
tion is  acquired  rapidly. 

117.  Varieties  of  Boys'  Clubs. — The  gang  is  one  of  the 
few  natural  groups  of   the   community,   and   should   be 
related  to  other  institutions.     It  should  not  be  hampered 
by  them,  but  should  receive  the  encouragement  and  assis- 
tance of  home,  school,  and  church.     The  Boy  Scout  move- 
ment has  been  associated  with  the  churches;  other  boys' 
organizations  have  been  connected  with  the  Sunday-schools; 
the  home  and  the  day-school  may  well  provide  resources 
or  quarters  for  the  gang,  and  recognize  its  activities.     But 
the  gang  is  not  the  only  organization  suited  to  the  boys  of 
a  community.    There  are  special  interests  provided  for  in 


Recreation  111 

more  artificial  groups,  such  as  athletic,  debating,  agricul- 
tural, or  natural  history  clubs.  These  attract  like-minded 
individuals  from  all  parts  of  the  community,  and  help  to 
balance  the  clan  spirit  developed  by  the  gang.  These  clubs 
may  centre  in  school  or  meeting-house  or  have  quarters  of 
their  own.  One  provision  that  is  needed  for  the  satisfac- 
tion of  boy  life  in  the  rural  community  is  the  field  or  green 
where  two  rival  gangs  may  contend  legitimately  for  suprem- 
acy in  sport,  or  clubs  from  different  neighborhoods  may 
test  their  prowess  and  arouse  local  pride  and  enthusiasm. 
The  green  needs  little  or  no  equipment,  but  it  gains  recog- 
nition as  the  boys'  own  training-field  and  serves  as  a  safe- 
guard to  the  health  and  morals  of  the  youth  of  the  com- 
munity. The  gang  and  the  green  are  the  proper  social 
institutions  of  boy  life  in  the  rural  community. 

118.  Girls'  Clubs. — The  instinct  of  the  girl  is  not  the 
same  as  that  of  the  boy.  She  has  other  interests  that 
require  different  organization.  Her  disposition  is  less 
active,  and  she  does  not  so  readily  form  a  group  organiza- 
tion. She  associates  with  other  girls  in  a  set  that  is  less 
democratic  than  her  brother's  gang.  It  has  its  rivalries 
and  enmities,  but  hateful  thoughts,  angry  words,  and 
slighting  attitudes  take  the  place  of  the  active  warfare  of 
the  boys.  Girls  enjoy  clubs  that  are  adapted  to  their 
interests.  Reading  clubs,  cooking  clubs,  sewing  clubs, 
musical  organizations,  and  philanthropic  societies  are  use- 
ful forms  of  neighborhood  association,  and  their  activities 
may  be  correlated  with  the  work  of  the  home,  the  school, 
and  the  church  more  easily  than  those  of  their  brothers. 

In  the  country  girls'  organizations  are  very  properly 
based  on  the  interests  of  the  farm,  with  which  they  are  so 
closely  related.  They  combine,  as  their  brothers  do,  on 
the  economic  principle,  organizing  their  poultry  clubs,  pre- 
serving clubs,  or  knitting  clubs,  but  the  social  purpose  is 
not  lost  sight  of  in  the  particular  economic  concern.  An 
hour  of  sociability  properly  follows  an  hour  of  economic 
discussion  or  activity.  Schoolgirls  are  very  willing  to  ac- 
cept the  leadership  of  their  teacher  in  a  nature  or  culture 
club  which  will  broaden  their  interests  and  stimulate  their 


112       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

ambitions.  One  of  the  organizations  that  has  sprung  into 
existence  on  the  model  of  the  Boy  Scout  movement  is  the 
organization  of  Camp-Fire  Girls.  It  is  designed  to  meet 
the  demand  for  companionship  in  a  wholesome,  pleasant 
way,  and  by  its  incentives  to  healthy  activity  and  womanly 
virtue  it  helps  to  build  character. 

119.  Recreation  in  the  Country. — The  recreative  in- 
stinct is  not  confined  to  children.  For  the  adult  labor  is 
lightened,  worries  banished,  and  carking  care  is  less  corrod- 
ing, if  now  and  then  an  evening  of  diversion  interrupts  the 
monotony  of  rural  life,  or  a  day  off  is  devoted  to  a  picnic 
or  neighborhood  frolic.  There  is  the  same  interest  in  the 
country  that  there  is  in  the  city  in  methods  of  entertain- 
ment that  satisfy  primitive  instincts.  The  instinct  for 
human  society  enters  into  all  of  them.  Other  specific 
causes  produce  a  fondness  for  the  various  forms  of  diver- 
sion indulged  in.  Among  uncultured  people  especially  an 
evening  gathering  soon  proves  dull  unless  there  is  something 
to  do.  Cards  occupy  the  mind  and  hands  and  create  a 
mild  excitement  that  banishes  troublesome  thoughts  and 
anxieties.  Dancing  breaks  up  the  stiffness  of  a  party, 
brings  the  sexes  together,  and  provides  the  exhilaration  of 
rhythmic  motion.  Barn  frolics  at  maple-sugar  or  harvest 
time  accomplish  the  same  end,  only  less  satisfactorily.  Mu- 
sicales  and  amateur  theatricals  provide  an  exhibition  of 
skill,  cultivate  the  aesthetic  nature,  gratify  the  dramatic 
instinct,  and  furnish  opportunity  for  mutual  acquaintance 
among  the  people  of  the  community,  who  meet  all  too  sel- 
dom in  social  gatherings,  and  at  the  same  time  they  furnish 
wholesome  entertainment  for  the  community  at  small  ex- 
pense. The  proceeds  are  used  for  local  advantage,  instead 
of  being  carried  out  of  town.  The  passing  show  and  mov- 
ing pictures  are  less  desirable.  They  are  often  cheap  and 
degrading,  though  the  kinetoscope  can  be  made  valuable 
for  education. ' 

The  out-of-door  gatherings  that  occur  when  the  country- 
side is  not  too  busy  to  plan  or  enjoy  them  are  a  helpful 
means  of  cultivating  a  community  spirit.  Athletic  con- 
tests on  the  boys'  own  field  readily  become  a  community 


Recreation  113 

affair,  with  a  speech  and  refreshments  afterward,  and  the 
award  of  a  prize  or  pennant  to  the  victorious  individual  or 
team.  The  old-fashioned  picnic  to  lake  or  woods  or  hilltop 
is  one  of  the  best  means  for  forming  and  strengthening 
friendships  and  for  giving  persons  of  all  ages  a  good  time. 
Friendly  contests  of  various  sorts  all  come  into  play  to 
add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  day.  Fourth  of  July,  Arbor 
Day,  Old  Home  Week,  and  other  occasions,  give  oppor- 
tunity for  recreation  and  the  cultivation  of  neighborhood 
interests. 

120.  A  Community  Centre. — Aside  from  the  natural 
isolation  and  lack  of  energy  and  social  interest  among 
country  people,  the  lack  of  efficient  leadership  is  the  most 
serious  handicap  to  organized  sociability.  Added  to  these 
is  the  want  of  a  neighborhood  centre  both  convenient  and 
suitable.  A  community  building,  tasteful  in  architecture 
and  equipped  for  community  use,  is  a  great  desideratum, 
but  is  not  often  available.  There  seems  to  be  no  good 
reason  why  the  schoolhouse  should  not  be  such  a  social 
centre  as  the  community  needs,  but  most  school  buildings 
are  not  adapted  to  such  use.  In  the  absence  of  any  other 
provision  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  rural  church  to  furnish 
the  opportunity  for  neighborhood  gatherings,  and  there  is 
a  growing  conviction  that  this  is  one  of  the  opportunities 
of  the  church  to  ally  itself  to  general  community  interests. 
The  church  represents,  or  should  represent,  the  whole  com- 
munity of  men,  women,  young  people,  and  children.  It 
has  all  their  interests  at  heart.  It  makes  provision  for 
them  in  Sunday-school,  young  people's  societies,  and  other 
groups.  It  recognizes  the  social  interests  in  festivals 
and  sociables.  It  may  usefully  add  to  its  functions  that 
of  raising  the  standards  of  community  recreation,  if  no 
other  proper  provision  for  it  exists;  it  is  under  obligation 
to  find  wholesome  substitutes  for  the  abuses  that  exist  in 
the  field  of  amusement  which  it  commonly  condemns. 


114        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

CURTIS:  Play  and  Recreation  for  the  Open  Country. 

PUFFER:  The  Boy  and  His  Gang. 

Boy  Scout  Handbook;  Handbook  for  Scout  Masters. 

The  Book  of  the  Campfire  Girls. 

STERN:  Neighborhood  Entertainments. 

CUBBERLEY:  Rural  Life  and  Education,  pages  117-126. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
RURAL  INSTITUTIONS 

121.  The  Complexity  of  Social  Life. — Closely  allied  to 
the  agencies  of  recreation  are  the  institutions  that  promote 
sociability  and  incidentally  provide  means  of  culture.     It 
is  not  possible  to  separate  social  life  into  compartments 
and  designate  an  institution  as  purely  recreational  or  cul- 
tural or  religious.     There  is  a  blending  of  interests  and  of 
functions  in  such  an  organization  as  the  grange  or  the 
church,  as  there  is  in  one  individual  or  group  a  variety  of 
interests  and  activities.     The  whole  social  system  is  com- 
plex, interwoven  with  a  multitude  of  separate  strands  of 
personal  desires  and  prejudices,  group  clannishness  and 
conservatism,   rival   institutions   developing   friction   and 
continually  compelled  to  rind  new  adjustments.     Society 
is  constantly  in  motion  like  the  sea,  its  units  continually 
striking  against  one  another  in  perpetual  conflict,  and  as 
continually  melting  into  the  harmony  of  a  mighty  wave 
breaking  against  the  shore  and  forming  anew  to  repeat  the 
process.     The  difference  is  that  social  life  is  on  an  upward 
plane,  its  activities  are  not  mere  repetitions  of  a  process, 
but  they  result  in  definite  achievement,  which  in  the  proc- 
ess of  centuries  becomes  an  accumulated  asset  for  the  race. 
The  most  lasting  achievements  are  the  social  institutions. 

122.  The  Village  and  the  Country  Store. — Of  all  the 
social  institutions  of  the  rural  community,  the  most  impor- 
tant is  the  village  itself.     There  scattered  homesteads  find 
their  common  centre  of  attraction;  there  houses  are  located 
nearer  together  and  the  spirit  of  neighborliness  develops; 
there  tradesmen  and  professional  persons  make  their  homes 
and  at  the  same  time  diversify  interests  and  provide  for 
the  wants  of  the  community.     The  school  and  the  church 
are  often  located  in  the  open  country,  but  the  village  forms 

115 


116       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

the  nucleus  of  social  intercourse  and  there  are  most  of  the 
institutions  of  the  community. 

The  most  primitive  among  these  institutions  is  the  coun- 
try store.  It  has  economic,  social,  and  educational  func- 
tions. It  supplies  goods  that  cannot  be  produced  in  the 
community,  it  serves  as  a  mercantile  exchange  for  local 
produce.  It  helps  to  remove  the  necessity  of  home  manu- 
facture of  many  articles.  On  occasion  it  may  include  an 
agency  for  insurance  or  real  estate;  it  is  frequently  the  vil- 
lage post-office;  it  contains  the  public  bulletin-board;  often 
the  proprietor  undertakes  to  perform  the  banking  function 
to  the  extent  of  cashing  checks.  Socially  the  store  serves 
a  useful  purpose,  for  it  is  the  centre  to  which  all  the  inhabi- 
tants come,  and  from  which  radiate  lines  of  communica- 
tion all  over  the  neighborhood.  It  is  a  clearing-house  for 
news  and  gossip,  and  takes  the  place  of  a  local  press.  It 
was  formerly,  and  to  some  extent  is  still,  the  social  club  of 
the  men  of  the  community  during  the  long  winter  evenings. 
As  such  it  performed  in  the  past  an  educational  function. 
Boxes,  firkins,  bales  of  goods,  superannuated  chairs,  and 
the  end  of  a  counter  constituted  the  sittings,  and  men  of  all 
ages  occupied  them,  as  they  listened  to  harangues  and 
joined  in  the  discussions.  The  group  constituted  the  forum 
of  democracy,  where  politics  were  frequently  on  debate, 
where  public  opinion  was  formed,  where  conservatism  and 
progressivism  fought  their  battles  before  they  tested  con- 
clusions at  the  ballot-box,  where  science  and  religion  entered 
the  lists,  where  local  interests  were  threshed  out  in  the 
absence  of  more  general  excitement  and  crops  and  agricul- 
tural methods  filled  in  the  pauses.  In  recent  years  the 
store  circle  has  degenerated.  The  better  class  of  habitual 
members  has  organized  its  lodges  or  found  satisfaction  in 
the  grange,  while  the  hangers-on  at  the  store,  barber-shop, 
or  other  loafing-place  indulge  in  small  talk  on  matters  of 
no  real  concern. 

123.  The  Sewing  Circle. — What  the  country  store  has 
done  for  the  men  as  a  means  of  communication  and  stimu- 
lus, the  ladies'  aid  society  or  church  sewing  circle  has  done 
for  the  women.  Its  opportunities  are  less  frequent,  but  it 


Rural  Institutions  117 

provides  an  outlet  for  ideas  and  opinions  that  without  it 
cannot  easily  find  expression.  At  the  same  time  it  provides 
active  occupation  for  a  good  cause,  which  is  more  than  can 
be  said  of  the  men's  forum.  When  it  adds  to  its  exercises 
a  supper  to  which  the  other  sex  is  admitted,  it  performs  a 
yet  wider  social  service. 

124.  The  Grange. — The  grange  is  an  institution  that 
includes  both  sexes  and  combines  the  interests  of  young 
people  with  those  of  their  elders.  Its  primary  purpose  was 
to  consolidate  the  common  interests  of  a  farming  commu- 
nity and  to  stimulate  economic  prosperity,  but  it  has  in- 
cluded several  social  features,  and  in  many  localities  exists 
merely  for  social  purposes.  It  is  an  institution  that  is  well 
adapted  to  become  a  social  and  educational  centre  for  the 
rural  community.  When  the  child  has  advanced  from  the 
home  to  the  school  and,  graduating  from  school,  has  entered 
into  the  adult  life  of  the  community,  the  grange  serves  as 
a  training-school  for  civic  service.  In  the  grange-room,  in 
company  with  his  like-minded  parents  and  friends  in  the 
community,  he  learns  how  to  hold  his  own  in  debate  in 
parliamentary  fashion,  he  discusses  improved  agriculture 
and  listens  to  lectures  from  masters  of  the  science,  he  gains 
literary  and  historical  knowledge,  and  from  time  to  time  he 
participates  in  the  social  diversions  that  take  place  under 
grange  auspices.  Music  enlivens  the  meetings,  and  occa- 
sionally a  feast  is  spread  or  an  entertainment  elaborated. 
The  Farmers'  Union  is  a  similar  organization,  originating 
in  the  South  in  1902. 

Such  rural  interests  as  these  have  come  into  existence 
spontaneously  and  continue  to  provide  social  centres  of 
community  life  because  other  institutions  do  not  satisfy. 
The  home,  the  school,  and  the  church  are  often  spoken  of 
as  the  essential  institutions  of  the  American  community, 
but  they  do  not  at  best  perform  all  the  functions  of  neigh- 
borhood life.  The  boys'  gang,  the  circle  of  men  about  the 
stove  at  the  corner  grocery,  the  women's  sewing  circle  or 
club,  and  the  grange,  each  in  its  own  way  performs  a  neces- 
sary part  of  the  group  activities,  and  deserves  recognition 
among  the  institutions  that  are  worth  while.  It  is  scarcely 


118       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

necessary  to  note  that  they  have  their  evils,  but  these  are 
not  of  the  nature  of  the  institution.  As  the  gang  can  be 
guided  to  worthy  ends,  so  the  energies  of  the  store  club 
and  the  sewing  circle  can  be  turned  into  channels  of  use- 
fulness and  low  talk  and  scandal-mongering  abolished.  As 
for  the  grange,  it  is  capable  of  becoming  the  most  valuable 
social  centre  of  the  community,  if  it  maintains  the  ideals 
of  its  existence  and  co-operates  heartily  with  other  social 
institutions  of  worth,  like  the  church. 

125.  Farmers'  Institutes. — Another  type  of  organiza- 
tion exists  which  can  hardly  be  called  institutional,  but 
which  performs  a  useful  community  service.  As  illustra- 
tions may  be  mentioned  the  farmers'  club,  the  farmers' 
institute,  and  the  Chautauqua  movement.  These  are  or- 
ganizations or  movements  for  stimulating  and  broadening 
the  interests  of  farm  regions.  They  bring  together  the 
farmers  and  their  families,  sometimes  from  several  neigh- 
borhoods and  for  several  days,  for  the  consideration  of  agri- 
cultural problems  and  for  entertainment  and  mutual  ac- 
quaintance. They  are  able  to  attract  speakers  from  the 
State  agricultural  college  or  board,  and  even  from  national 
halls,  and  they  become  a  valuable  clearing-house  of  ideas 
and  experience.  They  serve  much  the  same  purpose  as  a 
church  or  teachers'  convention,  and  are  restricted  to  a  lim- 
ited number  of  persons.  Farmers'  institutes  have  become 
a  regular  part  of  the  State  system  of  agricultural  education 
throughout  the  country,  and  a  large  staff  of  lecturers  and 
demonstrators  exists  for  local  instruction.  The  particular 
interests  of  women  and  young  people  are  receiving  recogni- 
tion in  institutes  of  their  own  in  connection  with  the  larger 
gatherings.  The  expense  of  such  institutes  is  met  by  the 
government.  Their  success  is,  of  course,  dependent  on  the 
attendance  and  intelligent  interest  of  the  farm  people,  who 
gain  greatly  in  inspiration  and  knowledge  from  contact 
with  one  another  and  from  the  experts  to  whom  they  listen. 
The  institutes  prove  the  value  of  association  for  the  enrich- 
ment of  individual  and  family  life  by  means  of  suggestion, 
communication,  and  concerted  activity. 


Rural  Institutions  119 


READING  REFERENCES 

BUCK:  The  Granger  Movement. 

BUTTERFIELD:  Chapters  in  Rural  Progress,  pages  104-120,  136-161. 

CARNEY:  Country  Life  and  the  Country  School,  pages  90-107. 

GILLETTE:  Rural  Sociology,  pages  208-213. 

CUBBERLEY:  Rural  Life  and  Education,  pages  117-159. 


CHAPTER  XVIH 
RURAL  EDUCATION 

126.  The  School  as  a  Social  Institution. — There  is  one 
institution  in  every  American  community  that  stands  as 
the  gateway  into  the  promised  land  of  a  richer  life.     This 
is  the  school.     It  supplements  home  training  and  prepares 
for  the  broader  experiences  of  community  existence.     Into 
it  goes  the  raw  material  of  the  bodies  and  minds  of  the 
children,  and  out  of  it  comes  the  product  of  years  of  educa- 
tion for  the  making  or  marring  of  the  children  of  the  com- 
munity.   The  school  of  the  present  is  of  two  types.     One 
is  the  relic  of  an  earlier  time,  with  few  changes  in  equip- 
ment, organization,  or  function;  it  has  not  shared  in  the 
process  of  evolution  enjoyed  by  certain  other  institutions 
of  society.     The  other  type  is  progressive.     It  has  been 
continually  finding  adjustment  to  its  environment,  fitting 
itself  to  meet  local  needs,  and  is  therefore  abreast  of  the 
times  in  educational  science.     The  demand  of  the  age  is 
that  the  progressive  school  keep  advancing,  and  as  fast  as 
possible  the  backward  school  work  up  to  the  standard  of 
efficiency. 

It  is  a  sociological  principle  that  every  social  institution 
approximates  to  the  standards  of  the  community  as  a 
whole.  If  community  life  is  static,  school  and  church  stay 
hi  the  ruts;  if  it  is  retrograding,  they  are  losing  ground;  if  it 
is  progressive,  they  gradually  show  improvement.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  community  frequently  feels  external  stimu- 
lus, first  through  one  of  its  institutions,  so  that  the  institu- 
tion becomes  a  means  of  betterment.  Recent  years  furnish 
examples  of  a  new  impulse  generated  in  the  neighborhood 
by  a  teacher  or  a  minister  who  enters  the  locality  with  new 
ideas  and  unquenchable  zeal. 

127.  Three   Fundamental   Principles    of   Education. — 
There  are  three  fundamental  principles  that  ought  to  have 

.-    120 


Rural  Education  121 

recognition  in  every  school.  The  first  of  these  is  the  prin- 
ciple that  education  is  to  be  social.  The  pupil  has  to 
learn  how  to  live  in  the  community.  In  the  home  he 
becomes  socialized  so  far  as  to  learn  how  to  get  along  with 
his  own  relatives  and  intimates,  but  the  school  teaches  him 
how  to  deal  with  all  sorts  of  people.  He  gets  acquainted 
with  his  environment,  both  social  and  physical.  What  kind 
of  people  are  living  in  the  homes  of  the  neighborhood? 
What  are  their  characteristics,  their  ideals,  their  failings? 
What  are  their  occupations,  their  race  or  nationality,  their 
measure  of  comfort,  poverty,  or  wealth?  How  are  they 
hindered  or  helped  by  their  natural  surroundings,  and  have 
they  easy  means  of  communication  and  transit  with  the 
outside  world  ?  What  are  the  principles  that  govern  social 
intercourse,  and  how  can  the  pupil  learn  to  put  them  into 
practice  ?  How  is  he  to  reconcile  his  own  individual  rights 
with  his  social  obligations?  These  are  fundamental  ques- 
tions that  deserve  careful  answer,  and  that  must  be  made 
a  part  of  the  school  curriculum  if  the  community  is  to 
enjoy  social  health.  It  matters  little  how  such  subjects 
are  named  hi  any  course  of  study,  but  it  is  essential  that 
the  principles  of  social  living  should  be  taught  under  some 
title. 

A  second  principle  of  education  is  that  it  should  be  voca- 
tional. The  school  children,  after  graduation,  must  make 
their  own  way  in  the  world.  Every  normal  youth  looks 
forward  hi  anticipation  to  the  time  when  he  will  be  earning 
his  own  support  and  the  support  of  a  family  of  his  own. 
Every  normal  girl  hopes  to  be  mistress  of  a  home  of  her 
own.  There  are  certain  things  that  they  need  to  know  if 
they  are  to  make  a  success  and  to  build  happy  homes. 
Their  first  business  is  to  know  how  to  make  a  home.  Nat- 
urally they  want  to  know  the  story  of  the  family  as  a 
social  institution,  how  the  home  is  purchased  or  rented, 
the  essentials  of  a  good  home,  both  in  its  equipment  and  in 
the  spirit  that  animates  it,  the  duties  and  rights  of  every 
member  of  the  family,  and  the  relations  of  the  family  to 
the  community.  The  question  arises :  How  may  the  home- 
maker  provide  for  the  support  of  the  family?  What  are 


122       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

the  available  occupations,  and  how  by  manual  and  mental 
training  may  he  equip  himself  for  usefulness?  How  may 
the  home-keeper  do  her  part  to  make  the  home  attractive 
and  comfortable  by  a  study  of  domestic  science  and  home- 
management?  Obviously,  the  curriculum  should  have  a 
place  for  such  studies  as  these  that  are  so  essential  to  peace 
and  happiness  and  comfort  in  the  home. 

A  third  principle  is  that  education  is  to  be  cultural. 
Social  and  vocational  knowledge  are  essential,  broad  cul- 
ture of  the  mind  is  highly  desirable.  No  citizen  of  the 
United  States  is  expected  to  grow  to  maturity  ignorant  of 
the  simple  arts  of  reading  or  spelling  correctly,  writing  a 
fair  hand,  and  solving  correctly  the  simple  problems  of 
arithmetic.  Beyond  this  many  schools  provide  a  smatter- 
ing of  aesthetic  training  through  music  and  drawing.  These 
are  subjects  of  study  in  the  elementary  schools.  But  cul- 
ture involves  more  than  these.  An  appreciation  of  litera- 
ture, of  the  meaning  and  value  of  history,  of  the  importance 
of  science  in  the  modern  world,  of  the  life  of  nations  and 
races  outside  of  our  own  country,  of  right  thinking  and 
right  conduct  with  reference  to  all  our  individual  relations, 
constitutes  for  all  persons  a  mental  training  that  is  almost 
indispensable.  To  acquire  this  cultural  education  requires 
time  and  the  elimination  of  the  less  valuable  from  the 
accepted  course  of  study.  It  is  a  most  wholesome  tendency 
that  is  prolonging  the  terms  and  the  years  of  compulsory 
education  if  that  education  is  based  on  the  right  princi- 
ples, and  that  is  discussing  the  possibility,  first,  of  using 
part  of  the  long  summer  vacation  to  supplement  the  work 
of  the  present  school  year,  and,  secondly,  of  giving  to  the 
young  people  of  every  State  a  free  university  education. 
It  is  never  to  be  forgotten  that  culture  may  and  should  go 
on  through  life,  but  that  will  not  occur  unless  habits  of 
study  are  formed  in  early  years,  and  the  school  years  will 
always  remain  the  golden  opportunity  for  an  education. 

128.  Education  as  It  Is.— On  these  fundamental  prin- 
ciples every  educational  system  should  be  built.  Actual 
education  falls  far  short  of  the  standard.  This  standard 
cannot  be  reached  without  proper  educational  ideals,  expert 


Rural  Education  123 

teaching,  and  adequate  equipment.  The  ideal  has  been 
narrow.  Stress  is  put  upon  one  type  of  education.  In  the 
past  it  has  been  cultural  above  the  lower  grades,  and,  be- 
cause it  has  been  almost  exclusively  so,  more  than  half  the 
pupils  have  dropped  out  of  school  before  entering  high 
school.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  a  new  emphasis  on 
practical  training,  and  vocational  courses  have  tended  to 
crowd  out  some  of  the  cultural  courses.  The  social  educa- 
tion which  is  most  important  of  all  has  been  incidental  or 
omitted  altogether.  Public  opinion  needs  to  be  educated 
to  the  point  of  understanding  that  all  three  types  of  train- 
ing are  imperatively  needed. 

There  is  a  serious  difficulty,  however,  in  the  way  of  a 
supply  of  teachers  for  this  broad  education.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  extend  reform  among  the  normal  schools,  but  this 
can  take  place  only  after  they  have  felt  the  demand  from 
the  grades.  Another  difficulty  is  the  expense  of  providing 
the  necessary  equipment  for  vocational  education.  This 
does  not  prevent  the  introduction  of  social  teaching  or  a 
proper  attention  to  culture,  but  courses  in  manual  training 
and  domestic  science  usually  cost  more  than  most  school 
boards  are  willing  to  meet.  This  is  not  an  insurmountable 
obstacle,  for  cheap  appliances  are  in  the  market  and  better 
school  boards  can  be  elected  when  the  people  want  them. 

129.  Wanted — a  Better  Rural  Education. — The  school 
in  the  rural  community  has  its  own  peculiar  weaknesses. 
First  among  these  weaknesses  is  the  fact  that  education  is 
not  in  terms  of  rural  experience.  It  is  an  accepted  educa- 
tional principle  of  instruction  to  begin  with  that  which  is 
simple  and  familiar,  and  to  work  out  to  that  which  is  com- 
plex and  more  remote.  On  that  principle  the  rural  school 
should  make  use  of  local  geography,  of  rural  material  in 
arithmetic,  of  literature  and  music  with  a  rural  flavor,  of 
nature  study  with  drawings  from  nature.  The  opposite  has 
been  the  case,  with  the  result  that  the  child  appreciates 
neither  his  surroundings  nor  his  opportunities,  but  looks 
upon  them  as  something  to  be  avoided  for  the  more  impor- 
tant urban  life,  with  whose  activities  he  has  become  familiar 
through  his  daily  tasks. 


124       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

A  second  weakness  is  that  rural  education  omits  so  much 
of  importance  to  the  child  who  must  make  his  living  in  the 
country.  To  discuss  rural  conditions  in  a  natural  and  sys- 
tematic way,  beginning  with  the  family  and  working  out 
into  the  social  life  of  the  community;  to  study  the  economic 
side  of  life  first  on  the  farm  and  then  in  the  neighborhood, 
getting  hold  of  the  underlying  principles  of  agriculture, 
becoming  familiar  with  the  action  of  various  soils  and  crops 
and  the  best  methods  of  cultivation  and  protection  from 
harm,  to  prepare  by  a  few  simple  lessons  in  household 
science  for  the  responsibility  of  the  home,  is  to  provide  the 
bases  of  success  and  happiness  for  the  boys  and  girls  of  the 
country.  Rural  education,  therefore,  needs  redirection. 

130.  The  Quality  of  Teaching. — The  child  in  the  coun- 
try has  a  right  to  as  good  instruction  as  the  city  child,  but 
because  of  the  poverty  and  penuriousness  of  school  dis- 
tricts and  the  maintenance  of  too  many  small  schools,  rural 
communities  pay  small  salaries  and  cannot  command  good 
teaching.  There  are  thousands  of  schools  scattered  over 
the  country  with  less  than  ten  pupils  in  attendance,  housed 
in  cheap,  unattractive  buildings,  with  teachers  who  have 
had  no  normal-school  training,  and  who  have  no  enthusiasm 
for  the  work  they  have  to  do.  They  may  hear  twenty  or 
more  classes  recite  on  numerous  subjects  in  the  course  of  a 
day,  but  there  is  no  stimulus  to  teacher  or  pupil,  and  school 
hours  provide  little  more  than  a  conventional  method  for 
passing  the  time.  In  such  communities  as  these  there  is 
rarely  any  efficient  superintendence  of  teaching  by  a  paid 
supervisor,  and  the  school  board  is  unqualified  to  judge  on 
any  other  basis  than  the  cost  of  schooling  for  a  limited 
number  of  weeks. 

The  small  district  school  has  the  effect  of  strengthening 
the  isolation  that  is  the  bane  of  the  country  regions.  It 
continues  to  exist  because  every  farmer  wants  the  school 
near  by  for  the  convenience  of  his  own  family.  The 
history  of  the  "little  red  schoolhouse"  throws  a  glamour 
of  romance  about  the  district  headquarters,  but  in  actual 
experience  the  district  school  has  outlived  its  usefulness. 
There  is  a  strong  movement  to  consolidate  district  schools 


Rural  Education  125 

and  at  some  conveniently  central  point,  with  attractive 
and  ample  grounds,  to  build,  equip,  and  man  a  school 
adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  community.  Experience 
shows  that  the  expense  need  be  no  greater,  because 
better  teachers  can  be  secured  for  a  given  expendi- 
ture when  fewer  are  needed,  and  with  a  greater  number  of 
scholars  there  may  be  a  regular  system  of  grading  and 
classes  large  enough  to  arouse  enthusiasm  and  ambition. 
The  district  school  operates  on  the  principle  of  division  of 
labor  in  educational  production,  but  it  does  not  enjoy  the 
benefits  of  co-operation  or  combination  for  efficiency,  while 
the  consolidated  school  secures  these  advantages  and  at 
the  same  time  a  better  division  of  labor  through  the  grades. 
Rural  education  needs  reorganization. 

131.  A  Discouraging  Environment. — Too  many  a  rural 
community,  like  old  China,  has  been  facing  the  past.  It 
has  lacked  courage  and  ambition.  The  atmosphere  has 
been  one  of  gloom  and  discouragement.  This  community 
temper  appears  in  the  social  groups;  it  is  felt  in  the  home, 
and  it  is  present  in  the  school.  It  has  been  typical  of  whole 
sections  of  rural  country.  Dilapidated  school  buildings, 
plain  and  unkempt  in  appearance  and  cheap  in  construc- 
tion, have  been  set  in  the  midst  of  barren  surroundings, 
unshaded  by  trees  and  unadorned  with  shrubs,  without 
walks  or  drives  to  the  entrance,  and  without  even  a  flag- 
pole as  an  evidence  of  patriotic  enthusiasm.  Inside  the 
building  there  is  insufficient  light  and  ventilation,  and  the 
old-fashioned  furniture  is  ill  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  pu- 
pils. The  whole  structure  is  almost  devoid  of  the  con- 
veniences and  modern  devices  for  making  school  life  either 
comfortable  or  worth  while.  In  such  an  environment  there 
is  none  of  the  stimulus  that  the  school  should  furnish.  The 
best  pupil,  who  might  respond  quickly  to  stimulus,  tends 
to  sink  to  the  level  of  the  meanest,  the  mental  horizon, 
cramped  at  home,  is  hardly  broadened  during  school  hours, 
and  the  main  purpose  for  the  existence  of  the  institution  is 
not  achieved. 


126       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

FISKE:  The  Challenge  of  the  Country,  pages  151-170. 
FOGHT:  The  American  Rural  School,  pages  154-253. 
CARNEY:  Country  Life  and  the  Country  School,  pages  133-301. 
KERN:  Among  Country  Schools. 
GILLETTE:  Rural  Sociology,  pages  233-263. 
BRYAN:  Poems  of  Country  Life. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  NEW  RURAL  SCHOOL 

132.  Nature  Study  in  the  New  Rural  School. — In  strik- 
ing contrast  to  such  a  defective  rural  institution  as  has  been 
presented  is  the  new  rural  school  and  the  country-life  move- 
ment of  which  it  is  a  vital  part.  The  first  step  in  the  new 
education  is  a  growing  recognition  of  the  function  of  the 
school  to  relate  its  courses  of  study  and  its  activities  to 
the  daily  experience  of  the  pupil.  The  background  of 
country  life  is  nature;  therefore  nature  study  is  fundamen- 
tal in  the  new  curriculum.  Careful  observation  of  natural 
objects  comes  first,  until  the  child  is  able  to  identify 
bird  and  bee  and  flower.  To  knowledge  is  added  appre- 
ciation. The  beauty  of  fern  and  leaf,  of  brookside  and 
hillside,  of  star-dotted  and  cloud-dappled  sky,  is  not  appre- 
ciated by  mere  observation,  but  waits  on  the  education  of 
the  mind.  This  is  part  of  the  task  of  the  teacher.  The 
economic  use  of  natural  objects  and  natural  forces  is  sec- 
ondary, and  should  remain  so,  but  the  new  education  takes 
the  knowledge  which  has  been  gained  by  observation  and 
the  enthusiasm  which  has  been  distilled  through  apprecia- 
tion, and  applies  them  to  the  social  need.  Agriculture 
comes  to  seem  not  only  an  occupation  for  economic  ends, 
but  a  vocation  for  social  welfare  also.  With  all  the  rest 
there  is  a  moral  and  religious  value  hi  nature  study.  Na- 
ture is  pre-eminently  under  the  reign  of  law;  obedience  to 
that  law,  adjustment  to  the  inexorable  demands  of  nature, 
are  essential  to  nature's  children.  No  more  wholesome 
moral  lesson  than  this  can  be  taught  to  the  present  genera- 
tion of  children.  Nature  ministers  also  to  the  spiritual. 
Power,  order,  beauty,  intelligence  speak  through  the  lan- 
guage of  the  natural  world  to  the  human  soul,  and  the 
thoughtful  child  can  be  led  to  see  through  nature  to  nature's 

127 


128        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

God.     Such  a  God  is  not  a  theory;  in  nature  the  divine 
presence  is  self-evident. 

All  theory  in  the  new  rural  school  is  based  on  experi- 
mentation. Together  the  new  teacher  and  the  pupils  beau- 
tify the  grounds  and  the  interior  of  the  school  building; 
they  plan  and  make  gardens  and  try  all  sorts  of  gardening 
experiments;  they  grow  the  plants  that  they  study,  and, 
best  of  all,  they  see  the  process  of  growth;  from  the  use  of 
soil  and  seed  and  proper  care  they  learn  lessons  in  practical 
agriculture  that  give  satisfaction  to  all  employed  as  book 
studies  alone  never  could,  and  they  make  possible  a  far 
better  type  of  agriculture  when  the  pupils  have  fields  of 
their  own.  Nor  is  it  necessary  for  pupils  to  wait  for  their 
maturity,  for  many  a  lesson  learned  at  school  and  demon- 
strated in  the  neighborhood  is  promptly  applied  on  the 
neighboring  farms. 

133.  The  Study  of  the  Individual. — A  second  subject  of 
study  in  the  new  rural  schools  is  the  individual.     Nature 
study  is  essential  to  a  rural  school,  but  "the  noblest  study 
of  mankind  is  man."    Though  it  is  highly  important  that 
the  individual  should  regard  social  responsibility  as  out- 
weighing his  own  rights,  it  would  be  unfortunate  if  the 
importance  of  the  individual  were  ever  overlooked.    The 
nature  of  the  physical  self,  the  requirement  of  diet  and 
hygiene,  the  moral  virtues  that  belong  to  noble  manhood 
and  womanhood,  the  possible  self-development  in  the  midst 
of  the  rural  environment  that  is  the  pupil's  natural  habitat 
are  among  the  worthy  subjects  of  patient  and  serious  study 
through  the  grades.     Neither  physiology,  psychology,  nor 
ethics  need  be  taught  as  such,  but  the  elementary  princi- 
ples that  enter  into  all  of  them  belong  among  the  mental 
assets  of  every  individual. 

134.  Rural  Social  Science. — In  the  same  way  it  is  not 
necessary  and  perhaps  may  not  be  advisable  to  teach  rural 
sociology  or  economics  by  name,  even  in  the  high  school. 
With  the  extension  of  the  curriculum  to  include  agriculture, 
there  is  need  of  some  consideration  of  the  principles  of  the 
ownership  and  use  of  land,  farm  management,  and  market- 
ing.   Practical  instruction  in  accounts,  manual  training, 


The  New  Rural  School 

and  domestic  science  find  place  in  the  new  school.  Fully 
as  important  as  these  is  it  to  explain  the  social  relations 
that  properly  exist  in  the  home,  the  school,  and  the  neigh- 
borhood, to  show  the  mutual  dependence  of  all  upon  one 
another,  and  to  point  out  the  advantages  of  co-operation 
over  a  prideful  individualism  and  frequent  social  friction. 
Along  with  these  relationships,  or  supplementary  to  them, 
belong  the  larger  relations  of  country  and  town  and  the 
reciprocal  service  that  each  can  render  to  the  other,  the 
characteristics  and  tendencies  of  social  life  in  both  types  of 
community,  and  the  effects  of  the  changes  that  are  taking 
place  in  methods  of  doing  business  and  in  the  nature  and 
characteristics  of  the  people  of  either  community.  Follow- 
ing these  topics  come  the  problems  of  rural  socialization 
through  such  agencies  as  the  school,  the  grange,  and  the 
church,  and  the  application  of  the  principles  already  learned 
in  a  study  of  social  relations. 

135.  Improvement  in  Economy  and  Efficiency. — While 
the  curriculum  of  the  schools  is  being  fitted  to  the  needs  of 
the  community,  it  is  desirable  that  there  should  be  im- 
provement of  economy  and  efficiency  in  the  whole  system 
of  education.  This  is  being  accomplished  partly  by  better 
supervision  and  teaching,  but  also  by  a  consolidation  of 
schools  which  makes  possible  better  grading,  an  enlarged 
curriculum,  improved  teaching,  and  a  deeper  interest 
among  the  pupils.  But  one  of  the  best  results  that  come 
from  school  consolidation  is  to  the  community  itself.  A 
consolidated  school  means  a  larger  and  better-equipped 
building.  It  often  has  a  large  assembly  hall,  a  library,  and 
an  agricultural  laboratory.  The  new  school  has  within  it 
tremendous  potencies.  It  may  become  under  proper  direc- 
tion an  educational  centre  for  people  of  all  ages  and  degrees 
of  attainment.  Continuation  schools  for  adults,  especially 
the  young  and  middle-aged  people,  who  were  born  too  soon 
to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  new  education,  are  possible 
in  the  late  autumn  and  winter.  Popular  lectures  and 
demonstrations  on  subjects  of  common  concern  and  enter- 
tainments based  on  rural  interests  find  place  at  this  centre. 
Mixed  occasionally  with  a  rural  programme  belongs  in- 
struction in  wider  social  relations  and  world  affairs. 


130       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

136.  The  Teacher  a  Community  Leader. — With  the 
consolidated  school  comes  the  well-trained  teacher,  and 
such  a  teacher  deserves  new  recognition  as  a  community 
leader.     In  Europe  and  in  some  parts  of  rural  America 
the  teacher  has  a  permanent  home  near  the  schoolhouse,  as 
a  minister  has  a  parsonage  near  the  meeting-house.     Such 
a  teacher  has  an  interest  in  community  welfare,  and  a  will- 
ingness to  aid  in  community  betterment.     Whether  man  or 
woman,  he  becomes  naturally  a  community  leader,  and 
with  the  backing  of  public  sentiment  and  adequate  support 
a  distinct  community  asset.    Such  a  teacher  is  more  than  a 
school  instructor.     He  becomes  a  social  educator  of  the 
people  by  interpreting  to  them  their  community  life;  he 
becomes  a  social  inspirer  to  hope,  ambition,  and  courage  as 
he  unfolds  possible  social  ideals;  he  becomes  a  guide  to  a 
new  prosperity  as  he  defines  the  methods  and  principles  on 
which  other  communities  have  worked  out  their  own  local 
successes.     Through  the  medium  of  the  teacher  the  neigh- 
borhood may  be  brought  into  vital  contact  with  other  com- 
munities in  a  district  or  whole  county,  and  may  be  brought 
together  to  consider  their  common  interests  and  to  try 
experiments  in  co-operation,  first  for  educational  purposes 
and  then  for  general  community  prosperity. 

At  first  the  rural  teacher  in  many  localities  will  have 
enough  to  do  with  securing  proper  accommodations  for  the 
children  in  school,  for  good  buildings  frequently  wait  for  a 
teacher  who  has  the  courage  to  demand  and  persist  in  get- 
ting them;  but  the  larger  work  for  the  community  is  only 
second  in  importance  and  adds  greatly  to  the  responsiveness 
of  the  older  people  to  the  suggestions  of  the  teacher.  One 
great  weakness  in  the  past  has  been  the  short  term  of  ser- 
vice of  the  average  teacher.  It  takes  time  to  accomplish 
changes  in  a  conservative  community,  and  the  new  educa- 
tion will  be  successful  only  as  the  new  teacher  becomes  a 
comparative  fixture.  To  build  oneself  into  the  life  of  a 
rural  community  as  does  the  physician,  and  to  ennoble  it 
with  new  ideas  and  higher  ideals,  is  a  missionary  service 
that  can  hardly  be  surpassed  at  the  present  time  in  America. 

137.  Higher  Education. — The  normal  school,  the  rural 
academy  or  county  high  school,  and  the  college  have  their 


The  New  Rural  School  131 

part  in  rural  education.  It  rests  with  the  normal  school  to 
supply  the  trained  teacher  and  the  normal  schools  rapidly 
are  meeting  the  demands  of  the  present  situation.  Train- 
ing classes  for  rural  teachers  have  been  established  hi  high 
schools  or  academies  in  twelve  or  more  States.  •  More  and 
more  these  higher  schools  are  relating  their  courses  of  study 
to  the  rural  life  in  which  so  many  of  them  are  placed. 

138.  What  the  University  Can  Do. — An  increasing  num- 
ber of  young  people  from  the  country  are  going  to  college. 
The  college  was  founded  on  the  principle  of  educating 
American  youth  in  a  higher  culture  than  local  elementary 
schools  could  provide.  It  is  the  function  of  the  college 
and  the  university  to  open  wider  vistas  for  the  individual 
mind  than  is  otherwise  possible,  to  do  on  an  infinitely  larger 
scale  what  the  teacher  is  attempting  in  the  elementary 
grades.  These  higher  schools  are  passing  through  a  human- 
izing process;  they  are  making  more  of  the  social  sciences 
and  the  art  of  living  well;  ai}d  they  are  allying  themselves 
with  practical  life.  In  the  case  of  established  institutions 
with  traditions,  and  often  with  trustees  and  alumni  of  con- 
servative tastes  and  tendencies,  there  are  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  their  rapid  adaptation  to  vocational  needs.  It  is 
probably  best  that  a  certain  class  of  them  should  stand 
primarily  for  intellectual  culture,  as  technical  and  agricul- 
tural schools  stand  for  their  specialties,  but  the  true  uni- 
versity should  be  representative  of  all  the  social  interests 
of  all  the  people  in  the  State. 

An  illustration  of  what  the  university  can  do  in  social 
service  for  a  whole  State  occurs  in  the  recent  history  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin.  It  conceived  its  function  to  be 
not  solely  to  educate  students  who  came  for  the  full  univer- 
sity course.  It  considered  the  needs  of  the  people  of  the 
State,  and  it  planned  to  provide  information  and  intellec- 
tual stimulus  for  as  wide  a  circle  as  possible.  It  provided 
correspondence  courses.  It  sent  out  a  corps  of  instructors 
to  carry  on  extension  courses.  It  made  affiliations  with 
other  State  institutions.  It  reached  all  classes  of  the  people 
and  touched  all  their  social  interests.  It  became  especially 
useful  to  the  farmers.  In  spite  of  scepticism  on  the  part 


132       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  the  people  and  some  of  the  university  officers,  those  who 
had  faith  in  the  wider  usefulness  of  the  university  pushed 
their  plan  until  they  succeeded  in  organizing  a  short  winter 
course  in  agriculture  for  farmers'  sons  and  then  for  the  older 
farmers,  branched  out  into  domestic  courses  for  the  women, 
and  even  made  provision  for  the  interests  of  the  boys  and 
girls.  Reaching  out  still  further,  the  university  organized 
farmers'  courses  in  connection  with  the  county  agricultural 
schools,  established  experiment  stations,  and  encouraged 
the  boys  to  enter  local  contests  for  agricultural  prizes.  By 
these  means  the  university  has  become  widely  popular 
and  has  been  exceedingly  beneficial  to  the  people  of  the 
State. 

139.  The  Public  Library. — While  the  school  stands  out 
as  the  leading  educational  institution  of  the  rural  commu- 
nity, it  is  by  no  means  the  sole  agency  of  culture.  Along- 
side it  is  the  library.  Home  libraries  in  the  country  rarely 
contain  books  of  value,  either  culturally  or  for  practical 
purposes.  Circulating  libraries  of  fiction  are  little  better. 
School  libraries  and  village  libraries  that  contain  well- 
selected  literature  are  to  be  included  among  the  desiderata 
of  every  countryside.  A  few  of  the  great  books  of  all  time 
belong  there,  a  small  collection  of  current  literature,  includ- 
ing periodicals,  and  an  abundant  literature  on  country  life 
in  all  its  phases.  It  is  the  function  of  the  library  to  instruct 
the  people  what  to  read  and  how  to  read  by  supplying 
book  lists  and  book  exhibits,  and  by  demonstrating  occa- 
sionally through  the  school  or  the  church  how  books  may 
be  read  to  get  the  most  out  of  them.  In  the  days  before 
public  libraries  were  common  in  this  country,  library  asso- 
ciations were  formed  to  secure  good  literature.  Such  asso- 
ciations are  still  useful  in  small  communities  that  find  it 
impossible  to  sustain  a  public  library,  and  they  serve  as  a 
medium  for  securing  from  the  State  a  travelling  library, 
which  has  the  special  advantage  of  frequent  substitution  of 
books.  Or  the  school  library  may  be  the  nucleus  of  a 
literary  collection  for  the  whole  community — advanta- 
geously so  if  the  school  building  is  kept  open  as  a  com- 
munity centre. 


The  New  Rural  School  133 

140.  Reading  Circles  and  Musical  Clubs. — The  value 
of  the  library  to  the  public  consists,  of  course,  not  in  the 
presence  of  books  on  the  shelves,  but  in  their  use.  Such 
use  is  encouraged  by  the  existence  of  literary  or  art  clubs 
and  reading  circles.  They  supply  the  twofold  want  of 
companionship  and  culture.  The  proper  basis  of  associa- 
tion is  similarity  of  interests.  Local  history  or  geology, 
nature  study,  current  public  events  in  State  or  nation,  art 
in  some  of  its  phases,  or  the  literature  of  a  particular  coun- 
try or  period,  may  be  the  special  consideration  of  a  club  or 
reading  circle;  in  every  case  the  library  is  the  laboratory  of 
investigation.  One  of  the  conspicuously  successful  organi- 
zations of  the  last  thirty  years,  showing  how  organization 
grows  out  of  social  need,  is  the  Chautauqua  movement. 
Starting  as  an  undertaking  in  Sunday-school  extension  by 
means  of  a  summer  assembly  and  local  reading  circles,  in 
which  the  study  of  history,  literature,  and  science  was 
added  to  Bible  study,  the  movement  has  grown,  until  it  is 
represented  by  a  thousand  summer  institutes,  with  numer- 
ous popular  lectures  and  entertainments,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  most  useful  educational  agencies  anywhere  in  the 
United  States. 

Every  community  is  interested  in  music.  Music  has  a 
place  on  every  programme,  whether  of  church,  school,  or 
public  assembly.  A  musical  club  is  one  of  the  effective 
types  of  organization  for  those  who  are  like-minded  in 
country  or  town.  There  are  two  varieties  of  organization, 
the  first  of  persons  who  join  for  the  pleasure  that  comes 
from  agreeable  society,  the  second  of  those  who  enter  the 
organization  for  the  musical  culture  to  be  obtained. 
Whether  for  diversion  or  study,  a  musical  club  is  well  worth 
while.  Under  the  influence  of  music  antagonisms  soften, 
moroseness  disappears,  and  sociability  and  good  cheer  take 
their  place.  The  old-fashioned  singing-school  was  one  of 
the  most  popular  of  local  social  institutions ;  something  is 
needed  to  fill  its  place.  A  club  or  band  for  the  serious 
study  of  instrumental  music  not  only  gives  culture  to 
individuals,  but  is  also  an  asset  of  increasing  value  to  a 
church  or  community. 


134        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

141.  Woman's  Clubs. — These  have  become  so  common 
that  they  need  no  special  description,  but  as  a  social  phe- 
nomenon they  have  their  significance.  They  mark  a  new 
era  in  the  emancipation  of  ideas;  they  are  indicative  of  a 
new  interest  and  ambition,  and  they  are  training-schools 
for  future  citizenship.  They  are  of  special  value  because 
of  the  wide  areas  of  human  interest  that  are  brought  within 
scope  of  discussion.  For  rural  women  they  are  a  great 
boon,  and  while  they  have  been  most  numerous  in  the 
larger  centres,  they  may  easily  become  a  universal  stimulus 
and  guide  to  higher  culture  everywhere.  In  the  absence  of 
a  grange  they  may  serve  as  a  centre  of  farm  interests,  and 
discussion  may  be  made  practical  by  the  application  of 
acquired  knowledge  to  local  problems,  but  their  great  value 
is  in  broadening  the  women's  horizon  of  thought  and  inter- 
est beyond  their  own  affairs.  If  rural  men  would  organize 
local  associations  or  brotherhoods  for  similar  assembly  and 
discussion  of  State  and  national  interests  they  could  mul- 
tiply many  times  the  benefits  that  come  from  the  associa- 
tions and  discussions  that  occur  on  special  days  of  political 
rally  and  voting.  The  rural  mind  needs  frequent  stimulus, 
and  it  needs  frequent  association  with  many  minds.  For 
this  reason  the  cultural  function  is  to  be  provided  for  by  a 
method  of  congregation  and  organization  approved  by 
experience,  leadership  is  to  be  provided  and  occasional 
stimulus  applied,  and  life  is  to  be  enriched  at  many  points. 
It  is  for  the  people  themselves  to  carry  on  such  enterprises, 
but  the  initiation  of  them  often  comes  from  outside.  Usu- 
ally, perhaps,  the  number  of  people  locally  who  have  a  real 
desire  for  culture  are  few,  but  it  is  through  the  training  of 
these  few  that  judicious,  capable  leaders  of  the  community 
are  to  be  obtained. 


The  New  Rural  School  135 


READING  REFERENCES 

HART:  Educational  Resources  of  Village  and  Rural  Communities, 

pages  197-277. 

CUBBERLEY:  Rural  Life  and  Education,  pages  161-347. 
CARNEY:  Country  Life  and  the  Country  School,  pages  336-340. 
DAVIS:  Agricultural  Education  in  the  Public  Schools. 
EGGLESTON  AND  BRUERE:  The  Work  of  the  Rural  School,  pages  193- 

223. 

HOWE:  Wisconsin:  an  Experiment  in  Democracy,  pages  140-182. 
Country  Life,  pages  200-210. 
FOGHT:  The  American  Rural  School,  pages  254-281. 


CHAPTER  XX 
RURAL  GOVERNMENT 

142.  The   Necessity  of   Government. — Institutions  of 
recreation  and  culture  are  in  most  cases  the  voluntary 
creation  of  local  groups  of  individuals,  except  as  the  state 
has  adopted  a  system  of  compulsory  education.     Govern- 
ment may  be  self-imposed  or  fixed  by  external  authority, 
in  any  case  it  cannot  be  escaped.     It  can  be  changed  in 
form  and  efficiency;  it  depends  for  its  worth  upon  standards 
of  public  opinion;  but  it  cannot  cease  to  exist.     As  the 
activity  of  the  child  needs  to  be  regulated  by  parental  con- 
trol in  the  home  and  by  the  discipline  of  the  teacher  in  the 
school,  so  the  activity  of  the  people  in  the  community  needs 
to  be  regulated  by  the  authority  of  government.     Self- 
control  on  the  part  of  each  individual  or  the  existence  of 
custom  or  public  opinion  without  an  executive  agency  for 
the  enforcement  of  the  social  will,  is  not  sufficient  to  safe- 
guard and  promote  the  interests  of  all.     Government  has 
everywhere  been  necessary. 

143.  The  Reign  of  Law. — The  existence  of  regulation  in 
the  community  is  continually  evident.     The  child  comes 
into  relation  to  law  when  he  is  sent  to  school  to  conform  to 
the  law  of  compulsory  education.     He  goes  to  school  along 
a  road  built  and  maintained  by  law,  takes  his  place  in  a 
school  building  provided  by  a  board  of  education  or  school 
committee  that  executes  the  law,  and  accepts  the  instruc- 
tion of  a  teacher  who  is  employed  and  paid  according  to 
the  law.     His  hours  of  schooling  and  the  length  of  terms 
and  vacations  are  determined  by  the  same  authority.     Dur- 
ing his  periods  of  recreation  he  is  still  under  the  reign  of 
law,  for  game  laws  regulate  the  times  when  he  may  or  may 
not  hunt  and  fish.     When  he  grows  older  and  assumes  the 
rights  of  citizenship  he  must  bear  his  part  of  the  burdens 
of  society.    He  has  the  right  to  vote  as  one  of  the  law- 

136 


Rural  Government  137 

makers  of  the  land,  but  he  is  not  thereby  free  to  cast  off 
the  restraints  of  law.  He  must  pay  his  proportion  of  the 
taxes  that  sustain  the  government  that  binds  him,  local, 
State,  and  federal  taxes.  He  must  perform  the  public 
duty  of  sitting  on  a  jury  or  administering  civic  office  if  he 
is  summoned  thereto.  Even  in  his  own  domicile,  though 
he  be  householder  and  head  of  a  family,  he  may  not  injure 
the  public  health  or  morals  by  nuisances  on  his  own  prem- 
ises, his  financial  obligations  to  creditors  are  secured  against 
him  by  law,  even  the  possession  of  his  acres  is  made  certain 
only  by  public  record.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  the 
legal  restrictions  under  which  he  lives  are  local  or  national, 
they  are  all  a  part  of  the  system  for  which  he  and  his 
neighbors  are  responsible,  and  which  as  citizens  they  are 
under  obligation  to  maintain. 

144.  Political  Terms. — It  is  important  to  understand 
and  use  correctly  certain  terms  which  occur  in  this  connec- 
tion. The  state  is  the  people  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
exercising  the  authority  of  social  control.  In  its  sociological 
sense  it  is  not  restricted  to  a  large  or  small  area,  but  in 
political  parlance  it  is  used  with  reference  to  a  large  district 
which  possesses  a  certain  degree  of  authority  over  all  the 
people,  as  the  State  of  New  York,  or  the  sovereign  state 
of  Great  Britain.  Government  is  the  institution  that  func- 
tions for  social  control  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the 
people  or  of  an  individual  to  whose  authority  they  submit. 
Politics  is  the  science  and  art  of  government,  and  includes 
statesmanship  as  its  highest  type  and  the  manipulation  of 
party  machinery  as  its  lowest  type.  Law  is  the  body  of 
social  regulations  administered  by  government  ostensibly 
for  the  public  good.  Each  of  these  may  be  and  in  the  past 
has  been  prostituted  for  private  advantage.  In  the  state 
one  man  or  a  small  group  has  seized  and  held  the  sovereign 
power  through  the  force  of  personal  ascendancy  or  the 
prestige  of  birth  or  wealth,  and  has  used  it  for  himself,  as 
history  testifies  by  numerous  examples.  The  forms  of 
government  in  many  cases  have  not  been  well  adapted  to 
the  functions  that  they  were  designed  to  perform.  The 
despotic  administrative  agencies  that  were  overthrown  by 


138       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

the  French  Revolution  were  ill-adapted  to  the  govern- 
mental needs  of  the  lower  classes.  Much  of  the  govern- 
mental machinery  of  the  American  republic  has  not  matched 
the  constitutional  forms  that  were  originally  provided,  and 
the  Constitution  has  had  to  be  stretched  or  amended  if 
the  government  of  the  founders  of  the  republic  was  not  to 
be  revolutionized.  So  law  and  politics  have  had  to  be 
reorganized,  revised,  and  reinterpreted  to  fit  into  the  social 
need.  Law  is  a  conservative  factor  in  progress,  but  it 
adapts  itself  of  necessity  to  the  demands  of  equity. 

145.  The  Will  of  the  People. — On  the  continent  of 
Europe  rural  government  is  arranged  usually  by  the  cen- 
tral authority  of  the  nation;  in  America  it  is  more  inde- 
pendent of  national  control.  On  this  side  of  the  water 
the  colonial  governments  often  interfered  little  with  local 
freedom,  and  after  the  Revolution  the  people  fashioned 
their  own  national  organization,  and  in  giving  it  certain 
powers  jealously  guarded  their  own  local  privileges.  They 
were  willing  to  sacrifice  a  general  lawmaking  power  and 
grudgingly  to  permit  the  nation  to  have  executive  and 
judicial  authority,  but  they  retained  the  management  of 
local  affairs,  including  the  raising  and  expenditure  of  direct 
taxes.  Local  government,  therefore,  has  continued  to 
reflect  the  mind  of  the  community,  a  mind  occasionally 
swayed  by  emotional  impulse,  but  usually  controlled  by  a 
love  of  order,  and  by  an  Anglo-Saxon  pride  in  self-restraint. 
The  will  of  the  people  has  made  the  government  and  sanc- 
tions its  actions.  It  may  be  that  the  will  is  not  fixed  or 
united  enough  to  force  itself  effectually  upon  a  set  of  public 
officials,  and  may  await  reform  or  revolution  to  become 
forceful,  yet  in  the  last  resort  and  in  the  long  run  the  will 
of  the  people  prevails.  By  the  provisions  of  a  democratic 
constitution  judgment  is  frequently  passed  by  the  people 
upon  the  administration  of  government,  and  it  is  within 
their  power  to  change  the  administrative  policy  or  to  reject 
the  agents  of  government  whom  they  have  previously 
elected.  Locally  they  have  the  advantage  of  knowing  all 
candidates  for  office.  The  efficiency  of  rural  government 
depends  much  on  its  revenue,  and  farmers  are  reluctant  to 


Rural  Government  139 

increase  the  tax  rate;  slowly  they  are  learning  the  value  of 
good  roads  and  good  schools. 

146.  The  Ancient  History  of  the  Community. — The  gov- 
ernment of  the  rural  community  has  a  history  of  its  own, 
as  has  the  community  itself.     This  government  gradually 
fits  itself  to  meet  local  needs,  but  it  is  slow  to  put  away  the 
survivals  of  earlier  forms  and  customs  that  have  outlived 
their  usefulness.     The  history  of  the  community  goes  back 
to  primitive  times,  when  the  clan  group  recognized  common 
interests  and  acknowledged  the  leadership  of  the  chief  or 
head  man.     Custom  was  the  law  of  the  clan,  and  its  older 
members  assisted  the  chief  in  interpreting  custom.     Gov- 
ernment hi  the  community  developed  in  two  ways,  one 
along  the  path  of  centralization  of  authority,  the  other  in 
the  growth  of  democracy.     One  tendency  was  to  attach  an 
undue  importance  to  ancient  custom,  and  to  throw  about 
it  a  veil  of  sanctity  by  connecting  it  with  religion.     Such 
a  community  in  its  conservatism  came  to  possess  in  time 
a  static  civilization,  but  it  lacked  virility  and  commonly 
fell  under  the  control  of  a  neighboring  energetic  community 
or  prince.     This  is  the  usual  history  of  the  Oriental  com- 
munity.   The  other  tendency  was  to  adapt  local  law  and 
organization  to  changing  circumstances,  and  to  make  use 
of  the  abilities  of  all  the  members  of  the  community,  to 
give  them  a  voice  in  the  local  assembly,  and  a  right  to 
hold  public  office.     Such  progressive  communities  were  the 
city  states  of  Greece,  the  republic  of  Rome,  and  the  rural 
communities  of  the  barbarian  Germans  before  they  settled 
in  the  Roman  Empire.     When  the  Greek  communities  be- 
came decadent  they  fell  under  foreign  dominion;  Rome 
imperialized  the  republic,  but  never  forgot  how  to  rule  well 
in  her  municipalities;  the  Germans  passed  on  their  demo- 
cratic ways  to  the  English,  and  from  that  source  they 
were  brought  to  America. 

147.  Two  Types  of  Rural  Government. — In  America 
there  have  been  two  types  of  rural  government  growing  out 
of  the  manner  of  original  settlement.     In  New  England  the 
colonists  settled  near  together  in  villages  grouped  about  the 
meeting-house.     One  or  more  villages  constituted  a  town 


140        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

for  purposes  of  government.  In  these  small  districts  it 
was  possible  for  all  the  citizens  to  meet  frequently,  and  in 
an  annual  assembly  the  voters  of  the  community  elected 
their  officers  and  adopted  the  necessary  local  regulations. 
Long  custom  transplanted  oversea  had  kept  a  close  con- 
nection between  church  and  state,  and  until  the  new  Ameri- 
can principle  of  separation  was  universally  adopted,  the 
annual  town  meeting  in  Massachusetts  was  a  parish  meet- 
ing, in  which  the  community  voted  with  reference  to  the 
needs  of  the  church  as  well  as  of  the  state.  In  the  South 
community  life  was  less  closely  knit,  and  town  meetings 
were  not  in  vogue.  The  parish  held  its  vestry  meetings  for 
the  transaction  of  ecclesiastical  business,  for  episcopacy 
was  the  established  church;  overseers  of  the  poor  were 
elected  at  the  same  meetings.  There  were  county  assem- 
blies for  social  and  judicial  purposes,  but  in  each  a  few 
prominent  people  in  the  neighborhood  managed  affairs  and 
perpetuated  their  privileges,  as  among  the  landed  gentry 
of  England.  It  was  in  these  ways  that  popular  govern- 
ment continued  along  the  path  of  material  and  social  prog- 
ress in  the  North,  while  in  the  South  a  plantation  aristoc- 
racy conservatively  maintained  its  colonial  ideas  and  insti- 
tutions, including  slavery. 

With  wider  settlement  there  was  an  extension  of  these 
sectional  differences,  except  near  the  border  of  both,  where 
a  blending  of  the  two  took  place  to  some  extent.  County 
organization  was  necessary  for  a  time,  while  the  country 
was  thinly  settled,  but  neighborhoods  organized  as  school 
districts,  and  by  a  natural  process  the  school  district 
became  the  nucleus  of  a  township  government,  at  first  for 
school  purposes  and  later  for  the  self-government  of  the 
whole  community.  In  some  cases,  as  in  Illinois,  it  was 
made  optional  with  the  people  of  a  county  whether  they 
would  organize  a  township  government  or  not,  but  wher- 
ever the  two  systems  entered  into  comparison  and  competi- 
tion the  township  government  proved  the  more  popular. 
As  long  as  pure  democracy  remains  there  must  be  a  small 
local  unit  of  government,  and  the  New  England  town  meet- 
ing seems  wonderfully  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  of  self- 


Rural  Government  141 

government.  The  recent  tendency  to  extend  democracy  in 
the  form  of  political  primaries  and  the  referendum  is  a 
stimulus  to  such  organization,  and  it  may  be  expected  that 
the  town  system  will  continue  to  extend,  even  in  the  South. 

148.  Town  and  County  Officials. — The  town  meeting  is 
held  in  a  public  building.  In  colonial  days  the  close  con- 
nection between  church  and  state  made  it  proper  that  the 
meeting  should  be  in  the  meeting-house;  in  the  West,  where 
the  school  was  the  nucleus  of  local  organization,  the  school- 
house  was  the  natural  voting  place.  In  present-day  New 
England  even  a  small  village  has  its  town  house,  containing 
a  large  hall,  which  serves  for  town  meetings  and  for  com- 
munity assemblies  for  various  social  purposes.  In  the  town 
meeting  the  administrative  officers,  called  selectmen,  are 
chosen  annually,  and  minor  officers,  including  clerk,  trea- 
surer, constables,  and  school  committee;  there  the  com- 
munity taxes  itself  for  the  salaries  of  its  officials,  for  the 
support  of  the  town  poor,  for  the  maintenance  of  highways, 
and  for  such  modern  improvements  as  street  lights  and  a 
public  library.  Personal  ability  counts  for  more  than  party 
allegiance,  though  each  political  party  usually  puts  its  can- 
didates in  the  field.  An  important  function  of  the  local 
voters  is  the  decision  under  the  local-option  system  that 
prevails  in  the  East,  as  to  whether  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors  shall  be  licensed  for  the  ensuing  year;  under  an 
increasing  referendum  policy  the  acts  of  the  State  legisla- 
ture are  frequently  submitted  for  review  to  the  local  voters. 

Where  the  town  system  does  not  exist  or  is  part  of  a 
larger  county,  officers  are  elected  for  more  extended  respon- 
sibility. The  functions  of  county  officers  are  mainly  judi- 
cial. Among  the  county  officers  are  the  sheriff  elected  by 
the  people  to  preserve  order  and  justice  throughout  the 
region,  the  coroner  whose  duty  has  been  to  investigate 
sudden  death  or  disaster,  and  to  hold  an  inquest  to  deter- 
mine the  origin  of  crime  if  it  existed.  The  county  com- 
missioners or  supervisors  are  executive  officers,  correspond- 
ing to  the  selectmen  of  the  town;  the  clerk  and  treasurer  of 
the  county  have  duties  similar  to  the  town  officers  with 
those  titles. 


142       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

149.  Political  Relations  and  Responsibilities. — The  local 
community,  alike  under  township  and  county  government, 
is  a  part  of  a  larger  political  unit,  and  so  has  relations  with 
and  responsibilities  to  the  greater  State.     The  town  meet- 
ing may  legislate  on  such  matters  as  the  erection  of  a  new 
schoolhouse  or  the  building  of  a  town  highway,  but  it  can- 
not locate  the  post-office  or  change  the  location  of  a  State 
or  county  road.     It  may  make  its  local  taxes  large  or  small, 
but  it  cannot  increase  or  diminish  the  amount  of  the  State 
tax  or  regulate  the  national  tariff.     The  townsman  lives 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  law  that  is  made  by  his  repre- 
sentatives in  the  State  legislature   or  the  national  Con- 
gress, and  he  is  tried  and  punished  for  the  infraction  of 
law  hi  a  county,  State,  or  national  court.     As  a  citizen  of 
these  larger  political  units  he  may  vote  for  county,  State, 
and  national  officials,  and  may  himself  aspire  to  the  high- 
est office  in  the  gift  of  his  countrymen. 

150.  Political  Standards. — To  a  foreigner  such  a  sys- 
tem of  government  may  seem  exceedingly  complex,  but  by 
it  self-government  is  preserved  to  the  people  of  the  nation, 
and  a  good  degree  of  efficiency  is  maintained.     There  are 
problems  of  social  control  that  need  study  and  that  pro- 
duce various  experiments  hi  one  State  or  another  before 
they  are  widely  adopted;  there  is  corruption  of  party  poli- 
tics with  unscrupulous  methods  and  machinery  that  is  too 
well  oiled  with  "tainted"  money;  but  local  government 
averages  up  to  the  level  of  the  intelligence  and  morals  of 
the  community.     If  the  schoolhouse  is  an  efficient  centre 
for  the  proper  training  of  boys  and  girls  to  understand  their 
social  relations  and  civic  responsibilities,  and  if  the  meeting- 
house is  an  efficient  centre  for  the  discussion  of  social  ethics 
and  a  religion  that  moves  on  the  plane  of  earth  as  well  as 
heaven,  then  the  town  house  will  give  a  good  account  of 
itself  hi  intelligent  voting  and  clean  political  methods.     If 
the  school-teacher  and  the  minister  have  won  for  themselves 
positions  of  community  leadership,  and  are  educators  of  a 
forceful  public  opinion,  and  if  the  community  is  sufficiently 
in  touch  with  the  best  constructive  forces  in  the  national 
political  arena  to  feel  their  stimulus,  the  political  type 


Rural  Government  143 

locally  is  not  likely  to  be  very  low.  A  self-governing  people 
will  always  have  as  good  a  government  as  it  wants,  and  if 
the  government  is  not  what  it  should  be,  the  will  of  the 
people  has  not  been  well  educated. 

READING   REFERENCES 

FAIRLIE:  Local  Government  in  Counties,  Towns,  and  Villages. 
FISKE:  Civil  Government  in  the  United  States,  pages  34-95. 
HENDERSON:  Social  Elements,  pages  292-317. 
HART:  Educational  Resources  of  Village  and  Rural  Communities, 

pages  92-105. 
COOLEY:  Social  Organization,  pages  402-410. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
HEALTH  AND   BEAUTY 

151.  Health  and  Beauty  in  the  Community. — Rural  gov- 
ernment formerly  limited  its  range  of  activity  to  political 
and  economic  concerns.  The  individualism  of  Americans 
resented  the  interference  of  government  in  other  matters. 
If  property  was  made  secure  and  taxed  judiciously  for  the 
maintenance  of  public  institutions,  the  duty  of  government 
was  accomplished.  The  individual  man  was  prepared  to 
assume  all  further  responsibility  for  himself  and  family. 
Such  matters  as  the  health  of  a  rural  community  and  its 
aesthetic  appearance  were  left  to  individual  initiative  and 
generally  were  neglected.  On  many  occasions  the  house- 
wife showed  her  sympathy  and  kindliness  by  nursing  a  sick 
neighbor,  but  the  members  of  the  community  had  little 
appreciation  of  the  seriousness  of  contagion  and  infection, 
no  knowledge  of  germs,  and  small  thought  of  preventive 
measures.  The  appearance  of  their  buildings  and  grounds 
was  nobody's  business  but  their  own.  They  had  no  con- 
ception of  the  social  obligation  of  each  for  all  and  of  all  for 
each.  The  result  was  an  unnecessary  amount  of  illness, 
especially  of  tuberculosis  and  typhoid  fever,  because  of 
insanitary  buildings  and  grounds,  and  a  general  air  of 
shabbiness  and  neglect  that  pervaded  many  communities. 
It  was  not  that  the  people  lacked  the  aesthetic  sense,  but 
it  had  not  been  trained,  and  in  the  struggle  for  the  subjuga- 
tion of  a  new  continent  all  such  minor  considerations  must 
give  way  to  the  satisfaction  of  elemental  wants. 

Slowly  it  is  becoming  understood  that  health  and  beauty 
are  matters  that  demand  public  attention  and  regulation. 
Good  fortune  and  happiness  are  not  purely  economic  and 
political  concerns.  Well-kept  roads,  clean  and  well-planned 
public  buildings,  sanitary  farm  structures,  properly  drained 

144 


Health  and  Beauty  145 

farm  lands,  and  pure  drinking  water  may  not  add  to  the 
number  of  bushels  an  acre,  but  they  prolong  life  and  add 
to  its  comfort  and  satisfaction. 

When  it  seems  no  longer  strange  to  bother  about  health 
conditions,  it  will  be  relatively  easy  to  give  attention  to 
rural  aesthetics.  If  a  schoolhouse  or  a  meeting-house  is  to 
be  erected,  it  will  give  greater  satisfaction  to  the  community 
if  the  principles  of  good  architecture  are  observed  and  the 
building  is  set  in  the  midst  of  trees  and  shrubbery  and  well- 
kept  lawn.  With  such  an  object-lesson,  the  people  of  the 
community  will  presently  contrast  their  own  property  with 
that  of  the  public,  the  imitative  impulse  will  begin  to  work, 
and  individuals  will  begin  to  make  improvements  as  leisure 
permits.  There  are  villages  that  are  ugly  scars  on  a  land- 
scape which  nature  intended  should  be  beautiful.  With 
misdirected  energy,  farmers  have  destroyed  the  wild  beauty 
of  the  fence  corners  and  roadsides,  mowing  down  the  weeds 
and  clearing  out  the  brush  and  vines  in  an  effort  to  make 
practical  improvements,  while  with  curious  oversight  they 
have  permitted  the  weeds  to  grow  in  the  paths  and  the 
grass  to  lengthen  in  the  yard.  Many  a  farm  in  rural  com- 
munities has  untidy  refuse  heaps,  tottering  outbuildings, 
rusting  machinery,  and  general  litter  that  reveal  the  ab- 
sence of  all  sense  of  beauty  or  even  neatness,  yet  the  farmer 
and  his  wife  may  be  thrifty,  hard-working  people,  and 
scrupulously  particular  indoors.  Their  minds  have  not 
been  sensitized  to  outdoor  beauty  and  hideousness.  They 
forget  that  nature  is  aesthetic;  they  live  in  the  midst  of  her 
beauty,  but  their  eyes  are  dim  and  their  ears  are  dull,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  instruct  them.  Happily,  recent  years  have 
brought  with  them  a  new  sense  of  the  possibilities  of  rural 
beauty.  Children  are  learning  to  appreciate  it  in  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  schoolhouse  and  the  tasteful  decorations 
of  its  interior;  their  elders  are  buying  lawn-mowers  and 
painting  their  fences,  and  America  may  yet  rival  in  attrac- 
tiveness the  fair  countryside  of  old  England. 

152.  Is  the  Town  Healthier  than  the  Country? — It  has 
been  commonly  believed  that  country  people  are  healthier 
than  townspeople.  Their  life  in  the  open,  with  plenty  of 


146       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

exercise  and  hard  work,  toughens  fibre  and  strengthens  the 
body  to  resist  disease.  It  has  also  been  supposed  that  the 
city,  with  its  crowded  quarters,  vitiated  air,  and  communi- 
cable diseases,  has  a  much  larger  death-rate.  It  is  true 
that  city  life  is  more  dangerous  to  health  than  a  country 
existence  if  no  health  precautions  are  taken,  but  city  ordi- 
nances commonly  regulate  community  health,  while  in  the 
country  there  is  greater  license.  Exposure  gives  birth  to 
colds  and  coughs  in  the  country;  these  are  treated  with 
inadequate  home  remedies,  because  physicians  are  incon- 
veniently distant  or  expensive,  and  chronic  diseases  fasten 
themselves  upon  the  individual.  Ignorance  of  hygienic 
principles,  absence  of  bathrooms,  poor  ventilation,  un- 
screened doors  and  windows,  and  impure  water  and  milk 
are  among  the  causes  of  disease. 

There  is  as  much  need  of  pure  air,  pure  water,  and  pure 
food  in  the  country  as  in  the  city,  and  the  danger  from 
disease  is  no  less  menacing.  The  farmer  loses  vitality 
through  long  hours  of  labor,  and  is  susceptible  to  disease 
scarcely  less  than  is  the  working  man  in  town.  And  he  is 
more  at  fault  if  he  suffers,  for  there  is  room  to  build  the 
home  in  a  healthful  location,  where  drainage  is  easy  and 
pure  air  and  sunshine  are  abundant;  there  is  water  without 
price  for  cleansing  purposes,  and  sanitation  is  possible 
without  excessive  cost.  In  most  cases  it  is  lack  of  informa- 
tion that  prevents  a  realization  of  perils  that  lurk,  and 
every  rural  community  should  have  instruction  in  hygiene 
from  school-teacher,  physician,  or  resident  nurse. 

153.  Rural  Health  Preservers. — Three  health  preserv- 
ers are  needed  in  every  rural  community.  These  are  the 
health  official,  the  physician,  and  the  nurse.  There  is  need 
first  of  one  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  inspect  the  sanitary 
conditions  of  public  and  private  buildings,  and  to  watch 
the  health  of  the  people,  old  and  young.  It  matters  little 
whether  the  official  is  under  State  or  local  authority,  if  he 
efficiently  and  fearlessly  performs  his  duty.  Constant  vigi- 
lance alone  can  give  security,  and  it  is  a  small  price  to  pay 
if  the  community  is  compelled  to  bear  even  the  whole 
expense  of  such  a  health  official.  Community  health  is 


Health  and  Beauty  147 

often  intrusted  to  the  town  fathers  or  a  district  board  with 
little  interest  hi  the  matter;  on  the  other  hand,  the  agent 
of  a  State  board  is  not  always  a  local  resident,  and  is  liable 
to  overlook  local  conditions.  It  is  desirable  that  the  health 
official  be  an  individual  of  good  training,  familiar  with 
the  locality,  and  with  ample  authority,  for  in  this  way 
only  can  safety  be  reasonably  secure. 

It  is  by  no  means  impracticable  to  give  a  local  physician 
the  necessary  official  authority.  He  is  equipped  with  in- 
formation and  skilled  by  experience  to  know  bad  condi- 
tions when  he  sees  them  and  to  appreciate  their  seriousness. 
Whether  or  not  a  physician  is  the  official  health  protector 
of  the  community,  a  physician  there  should  be  who  can  be 
reached  readily  by  those  who  need  him,  and  who  should  be 
required  to  produce  a  certificate  of  thorough  training  in 
both  medicine  and  surgery.  If  such  a  medical  practitioner 
does  not  establish  himself  in  the  district  voluntarily,  the 
community  might  well  afford  to  employ  such  a  physician 
on  a  salary  and  make  him  responsible  for  the  health  of  all. 
As  civilization  advances  it  will  become  increasingly  the 
custom  in  the  country  as  well  as  in  the  city  to  employ  a 
physician  to  keep  one's  general  health  good,  as  now  one 
employs  a  dentist  to  examine  and  preserve  the  teeth. 
Medical  practice  must  continually  become  more  preventive 
and  less  remedial.  It  may  seem  as  if  it  were  an  unwar- 
ranted expansion  of  the  social  functions  of  a  community 
that  it  should  care  for  the  health  of  individuals,  but  as 
the  interdependence  of  individuals  becomes  increasingly 
understood,  the  community  may  be  expected  to  extend  its 
care  for  its  own  welfare. 

154.  The  Village  Nurse. — Alongside  the  physician  be- 
longs the  village  or  rural  nurse.  Already  there  are  many 
communities  that  are  becoming  accustomed  to  such  a  func- 
tionary, who  visits  the  schools,  examines  the  children,  pre- 
scribes for  their  small  ailments  or  recommends  a  visit  to 
the  physician,  and  who  stands  ready  to  perform  the  duties 
of  a  trained  nurse  at  the  bedside  of  any  sufferer.  The  sup- 
port of  such  a  nurse  is  usually  maintained  by  voluntary 
subscription,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  she 


148       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

should  not  be  appointed  and  paid  by  the  organized  com- 
munity as  a  local  official.  She  is  as  much  needed  as  a 
road-surveyor,  surely  as  valuable  as  hog-reeve  or  pound- 
keeper.  It  is  a  valid  social  principle,  though  rural  observa- 
tion does  not  always  justify  it,  that  human  life  is  not  only 
intrinsically  more  valuable  to  the  individual  or  family  than 
the  life  of  an  animal  of  the  herd,  but  it  is  actually  worth 
more  to  the  community. 

155.  The  Village  Improvement  Society. — To  secure  good 
health  conditions,  interested  persons  in  the  community  may 
organize  a  health  club.  Its  feasibility  is  well  proved  by 
the  history  of  the  village  improvement  society.  There  are 
two  hundred  such  societies  in  Massachusetts  alone,  and  the 
whole  movement  is  organized  nationally  in  the  American 
Civic  Federation.  Their  object  is  the  toning  up  of  the 
community  by  various  methods  that  have  proved  practi- 
cable. They  owe  their  organization  to  a  few  public-spirited 
individuals,  to  a  woman's  club,  or  sometimes  to  a  church. 
Their  membership  is  entirely  voluntary,  but  local  govern- 
ment may  properly  co-operate  to  accomplish  a  desired  end. 
Expenses  are  met  by  voluntary  contribution  or  by  means  of 
public  entertainments,  and  its  efforts  are  limited,  of  course, 
by  the  fatness  of  its  purse.  Examples  of  the  useful  public 
service  that  they  perform  are  the  demolition  of  unsightly 
buildings  and  the  cleaning  up  of  unkempt  premises,  the 
beautification  of  public  structures  and  the  building  of  better 
roads,  the  erection  of  drinking  troughs  or  fountains,  and  the 
improvement  of  cemeteries.  Besides  such  outdoor  inter- 
ests village  improvement  societies  create  public  spirit,  edu- 
cate the  community  by  means  of  high-class  entertainments, 
art  and  nature  exhibits,  and  public  discussion  of  current 
questions  of  local  interest.  They  stand  back  of  community 
enterprises  for  recreation,  fire  protection,  and  other  forms 
of  social  service,  including  such  economic  interests  as  co- 
operative buying  and  marketing  and  the  extension  of  tele- 
phone or  transportation  service. 

The  initial  impulse  that  sets  in  motion  various  forms  of 
village  improvement  frequently  comes  from  the  summer 
visitor  or  from  a  teacher  or  minister  who  brings  new  ideas 


Health  and  Beauty  149 

and  a  will  to  carry  them  into  action.  In  certain  sections  of 
country,  like  the  mountain  region  of  northern  New  Eng- 
land, summer  people  are  very  numerous,  through  the  weeks 
from  June  to  October,  and  not  a  few  of  them  revisit  their 
favorite  rural  haunts  for  a  briefer  time  in  the  winter.  It  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  they  are  always  a  force  for  good. 
Sometimes  they  make  country  residents  envious  and  dis- 
satisfied. But  it  is  not  unusual  that  they  give  an  intellec- 
tual stimulus  to  the  young  people  and  the  women,  compel 
the  men  to  observe  the  proprieties  of  social  intercourse, 
and  encourage  downcast  leaders  of  church  and  neighbor- 
hood to  renewed  industry  and  hope.  They  demand  multi- 
plied comforts  and  conveniences,  and  expect  attractive  and 
healthful  accommodations.  Where  they  purchase  and  im- 
prove lands  and  buildings  of  their  own  they  provide  useful 
models  to  their  less  particular  neighbors,  and  thus  the 
leaven  of  a  better  type  of  living  does  its  work  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

156.  Principles  of  Organization. — The  principles  that  lie 
at  the  basis  of  every  organization  for  improvement  are 
simple  and  practicable  everywhere.  They  have  been  enu- 
merated as  a  democratic  spirit  and  organization,  a  wide 
interest  in  community  affairs,  and  a  perennial  care  for  the 
well-being  of  all  the  people.  Public  spirit  is  the  reason  for 
its  existence,  and  the  same  public  spirit  is  the  only  force 
that  can  keep  the  organization  alive.  Every  community  in 
this  democratic  country  has  its  fortunes  in  its  own  hands. 
If  it  is  so  permeated  with  individualism  or  inertia  that  it 
cannot  awake  to  its  duties  and  its  privileges,  it  will  perish 
in  accordance  with  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest;  if, 
on  the  contrary,  it  adopts  as  its  controlling  principles  those 
just  mentioned,  it  will  find  increasing  strength  and  profit 
for  itself,  because  it  keeps  alive  the  spirit  of  co-operation 
and  mutual  help. 


150       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

HART:  Educational  Resources  of  Village  and  Rural  Communities, 

pages  66-82,  106-130. 
GILLETTE:  Rural  Sociology,  pages  147-167. 
HARRIS:  Health  on  the  Farm. 

FARWELL:  Village  Improvement,  pages  47-53,  Appendix. 
WATERS:  Village  Nursing  in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  XXH 
MORALS  IN  THE  RURAL  COMMUNITY 

157.  Social  Disease  and  Its  Causes. — Rural  morals  are 
a  phase  of  the  public  health  of  the  community.     Immorality 
is  a  kind  of  social  disease,  for  which  the  community  needs 
to  find  a  remedy.     The  amount  of  moral  ill  varies  widely, 
but  it  can  be  increased  by  neglect  or  lessened  by  effort,  as 
surely  as  can  the  amount  of  physical  disease.     Moral  ill  is 
due  to  the  individual  and  to  the  community.     The  judg- 
ment of  the  individual  may  be  warped,  his  moral  conscious- 
ness defective,  or  his  will  weak.     He  may  have  low  stand- 
ards and  ill-adjusted  relationships.     Selfishness  may  have 
blunted  his  sympathy.     All  these  conditions  contribute  to 
the  common  vices  of  community  life.     But  the  individual 
is  sometimes  less  to  blame  than  the  community.     Much 
moral  ill  is  a  consequence  of  the  imperfect  functioning  of 
the  community.    A  man  steals  because  he  is  hungry  or 
cold,  and  the  motive  to  escape  pain  is  stronger  than  the 
motive  to  deal  lawfully  with  his  neighbor;  but  if  the  com- 
munity saw  to  it  that  adequate  provision  was  made  for  all 
economic  need,  and  if  moral  instruction  was  not  lacking,  it 
would  be  unlikely  to  happen.     Similar  reasons  may  be 
found  for  other  evils.     It  is  as  much  the  business  of  the 
community  to  keep  the  social  atmosphere  wholesome  as  it 
is  to  keep  the  air  and  water  of  its  farms  pure.     It  should 
provide  moral  training  and  moral  exercise. 

158.  How    Morals    Develop. — Without   attempting   a 
thoroughly  scientific  definition  of  morals,  we  may  call  good 
morals  those  habitual  acts  which  are  in  harmony  with  the 
best  individual  and  social  interests  of  the  people  of  the 
community,  and  bad  morals  the  absence  of  such  habits. 
Of  course  the  acts  are  the  consequence  of  motives,  and  in 
the  last  analysis  the  question  of  morals  is  rooted  in   the 
field  of  psychology  or  religion;  but  the  inner  motive  is 

151 


152       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

revealed  in  the  outward  act,  and  it  is  customary  to  speak 
of  the  act  as  moral  or  immoral.  Moral  standards  are  not 
unvarying.  One  race  differs  from  another  and  one  period 
of  history  differs  from  another.  Primitive  custom  was  the 
first  standard,  and  was  determined  by  what  was  good  for 
the  group,  and  the  individual  conformed  to  it  from  force 
of  circumstances.  If  he  was  to  remain  a  member  of  the 
group  and  enjoy  its  benefits  he  must  be  willing  to  sacrifice 
his  selfish  desires.  His  consciousness  of  the  solidarity  of 
the  group  deepens  with  experience,  and  his  feelings  of  sym- 
pathy grow  stronger,  until  impulsive  altruism  becomes  a 
habit  and  eventually  a  fixed  and  purposeful  patriotism. 
By  and  by  religion  throws  about  conduct  its  sanctions  and 
interprets  the  meaning  of  morality.  However  imperfect 
may  be  the  relations  between  good  morals  and  pagan  re- 
ligions, Judaism  and  Christianity  have  combined  religion 
with  high  moral  ideals.  The  Hebrew  prophets  declared 
that  God  demanded  justice,  kindness,  and  mercy  in  human 
relations  rather  than  acts  of  ceremony  and  sacrifice  to 
himself,  and  Jesus  made  love  to  neighbor  as  fundamental 
to  holiness  as  love  to  God.  Such  a  religion  becomes  dy- 
namic in  producing  moral  deeds. 

159.  The  Social  Stimulus  to  Morality. — It  is  customary 
to  think  of  the  homely  virtues  of  truthfulness,  sobriety, 
thrift,  and  kindliness  as  individual  obligations,  but  they  are 
not  wrought  out  in  isolation.  Isolation  is  never  complete, 
and  virtue  is  a  social  product.  The  farmer  makes  occa- 
sional visits  to  the  country  store,  where  he  experiences  so- 
cial contacts;  there  is  habitual  association  with  individual 
workers  on  the  farm  or  traders  with  whom  the  farmer  car- 
ries on  a  business  transaction.  His  personal  contacts  may 
not  be  helpful,  and  his  wife  may  lack  them  almost  alto- 
gether outside  of  the  home;  the  result  is  often  a  tendency 
toward  vice  or  degeneration,  sometimes  to  insanity  or  sui- 
cide, but  it  is  seldom  that  there  are  not  helpful  influences 
and  relations  available  if  the  individual  will  put  himself  in 
the  way  of  enjoying  them.  Good  morals  are  dependent  on 
right  associations.  Human  beings  need  the  stimulus  of 
good  society,  otherwise  the  mind  vegetates  or  broods  upon 


Morals  in  the  Rural  Community  153 

real  or  fancied  wrongs  until  the  moral  nature  is  in  danger 
of  atrophy  or  warping.  Family  feuds  develop,  as  among 
the  Scotch  highlanders  or  the  mountain  people  in  certain 
parts  of  the  South.  Lack  of  social  sympathy  increases  as 
the  interests  become  self-centred;  out  of  this  characteristic 
grow  directly  such  evils  as  petty  lawlessness,  rowdyism, 
and  crime.  The  country  districts  need  the  help  of  high- 
grade  schools  and  proper  places  of  recreation,  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  or  an  association  of 
like  principles,  and  most  of  all  of  a  virile  church  that  will 
interpret  moral  obligation  and  furnish  the  power  that  is 
needed  to  move  the  will  to  right  action. 

1 60.  Rural  Vices. — The  moral  problems  of  the  rural 
community  do  not  differ  greatly  from  those  of  the  town. 
The  most  common  rural  vices  are  profanity,  drunkenness, 
and  sexual  immorality.  Profanity  is  often  a  habit  rather 
than  a  defect  in  moral  character,  and  is  due  sometimes  to  a 
narrow  vocabulary.  It  is  a  mark  of  ignorance  and  boorish- 
ness.  In  many  localities  it  is  less  common  than  it  used  to 
be.  The  average  community  life  is  wholesome.  Not  more 
than  twenty  per  cent  of  American  rural  communities  have 
really  bad  conditions  in  any  way,  according  to  the  investiga- 
tions made  by  the  United  States  Rural  Life  Commission  in 
1908.  Considering  the  monotony  and  hardships  of  rural 
life,  it  is  much  to  the  credit  of  the  people  that  most  com- 
munities are  temperate  and  law-abiding.  Intemperance  is 
one  of  the  most  common  evils;  there  is  a  longing  for  the 
stimulant  of  liquor,  which  appears  in  some  cases  in  moder- 
ate drinking  and  in  other  cases  in  the  habit  of  an  occasional 
spree  in  a  near-by  town,  when  reason  abdicates  to  appetite. 
Lumbermen  and  miners,  whose  work  is  especially  hard  and 
isolation  from  good  society  complete,  have  been  notorious 
for  their  lapses  into  intemperance,  but  it  is  not  a  serious 
problem  in  three  out  of  four  communities  the  country  over, 
and  a  wave  of  temperance  sentiment  has  swept  strongly 
over  rural  districts.  Gambling  is  a  diversion  that  appeals 
to  those  who  have  few  mental  and  pecuniary  resources  as 
an  offset  to  the  daily  monotony,  but  this  habit  is  not  typi- 
cal of  rural  communities. 


154       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

«» 

Investigations  of  the  Rural  Life  Commission  showed  that 
sexual  immorality  prevails  in  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  of 
the  rural  communities,  and  they  trace  much  of  it  to  late 
evening  drives  and  dances  and  unchaperoned  calls,  but  on 
the  whole  the  perversion  of  the  sex  instinct  is  less  common 
than  in  the  cities.  The  young  are  generally  trained  in 
moral  principles,  the  religious  sanctions  are  more  strongly 
operative,  and  the  conduct  and  character  of  every  indi- 
vidual is  constantly  under  the  public  eye.  Young  people 
in  the  country  marry  at  an  earlier  age  than  in  the  city,  and 
husband  and  wife  are  normally  faithful.  Crime  in  the 
country  is  peculiar  to  degenerate  communities,  elsewhere  it 
is  rare.  Juvenile  delinquency  occurs,  and  there  are  not 
such  helpful  influences  as  the  juvenile  court  of  the  city;  on 
the  other  hand,  most  boys  are  in  touch  with  home  influ- 
ences, feel  the  restraint  of  a  law-abiding  community,  and 
know  that  lawbreaking  is  almost  certain  to  be  found  out 
and  punished. 

161.  Community  Obligation. — Moral  delinquency  in  the 
rural  community  lies  in  the  failure  to  provide  social  stimu- 
lus to  individual  members.  The  farmer  has  as  good  reason 
to  be  ambitious  for  success  and  to  feel  pride  in  it  as  has  the 
city  merchant,  but  he  has  small  local  encouragement  to 
develop  better  agriculture  on  his  own  farm.  He  has  as 
much  right  to  the  benefits  of  association  in  toil  and  co- 
operation in  effecting  economies  and  disposing  of  his  prod- 
ucts as  the  employer  or  working  man  in  town.  He  is  equally 
entitled  to  good  government,  to  wholesome  recreation,  to  a 
suitable  and  efficient  education,  and  to  the  spiritual  leader- 
ship of  a  progressive  church.  Without  the  spur  of  com- 
munity fellowship  his  life  narrows  and  his  abilities  are  not 
developed.  With  the  help  of  community  stimulus  the 
individual  may  develop  capacity  for  individual  achieve- 
ment and  social  leadership  of  as  fine  a  quality  as  any  urban 
centre  can  supply.  It  is  well  known  that  the  strong  men 
of  the  cities  in  business  and  the  professions  have  come  in 
large  proportion  from  the  country.  If  such  qualities  devel- 
oped in  the  comparative  isolation  and  discomfort  of  the 
past,  it  is  a  moral  obligation  of  rural  communities  of  the 


Morals  in  the  Rural  Community  155 

future  to  do  even  more  to  produce  the  brawn  and  brain  of 
city  leaders  in  days  to  come. 

READING  REFERENCES 

WILSON:  The  Evolution  of  the  Country  Community,  pages  171-188. 

ANDERSON:  The  Country  Town,  pages  95-106. 

DEALEY:  Sociology,  pages  146-165. 

HART:  Educational  Resources  of  Village  and  Rural  Communities, 

pages  166-175. 

HOBHOUSE:  Morals  in  Evolution,  I,  pages  364-375. 
SPENCER  :  Data  of  Ethics,  chapter  8. 
Report  of  Committee  on  Morals  and  Rural  Conditions  of  the  General 

Association  of  Congregational  Churches  of  Massachusetts,  1908. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  RURAL  CHURCH 

162.  The  Value  of  the  Rural  Church. — Of  all  the  local 
institutions  of  the  rural  community,  none  is  so  discourag- 
ing and  at  the  same  time  so  potential  for  usefulness  as  the 
country  church.  It  has  had  a  noble  past;  it  is  passing 
through  a  dubious  present;  it  should  emerge  into  a  great 
future.  The  church  is  the  conserver  of  the  highest  ideals. 
Like  every  long-established  institution,  it  is  conservative  in 
methods  as  well  as  in  principles.  It  regards  itself  as  the 
censor  of  conduct  and  the  mentor  of  conscience,  and  it  fills 
the  r6le  of  critic  as  often  as  it  holds  out  an  encouraging 
hand  to  the  weary  and  hard  pressed  in  the  struggle  for 
existence  and  moral  victory.  It  is  the  guide-post  to  another 
world,  which  it  esteems  more  highly  than  this.  Sometimes 
it  puts  more  emphasis  on  creed  than  on  conduct,  on  Sunday 
scrupulousness  than  on  Monday  scruple.  But  in  spite  of 
its  failings  and  its  frequent  local  decline,  the  church  is  the 
hope  of  rural  America.  It  is  notorious  that  the  absence 
of  a  church  means  a  distinctly  lower  type  of  community 
life,  both  morally  and  socially.  Vice  and  crime  flourish 
there.  Property  values  tumble  when  the  church  dies  and 
the  minister  moves  away.  Many  residents  rarely  if  ever 
enter  the  precincts  of  the  meeting-house  or  contribute  to 
the  expense  of  its  maintenance,  yet  they  share  in  the  bene- 
fits that  it  gives  and  would  not  willingly  see  it  disappear 
when  they  realize  the  consequences.  In  the  westward 
march  of  settlement  the  missionary  kept  pace  with  the 
pioneer,  and  the  church  on  the  frontier  became  the  centre 
of  every  good  influence.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the 
value  of  the  rural  church  in  the  onrush  of  civilization. 
Religion  has  been  the  saving  salt  of  humanity  when  it  was 
in  danger  of  spoiling.  In  the  lumber  and  the  mining  camp, 

156 


The  Rural  Church  157 

on  the  cattle-ranch  and  the  prairie,  the  missionary  has 
sweetened  life  with  his  ministry  and  given  a  tone  to  the  life 
of  the  open  and  the  wild  that  in  value  is  past  calculation. 

163.  The   Church  in  Decline. — In  the  days  when  it 
seems  declining,  the  strength  of  the  rural  church  is  worth 
preserving.     There   are   hundreds   of   rural   communities 
where  the  young  people  have  gone  to  the  town  and  popu- 
lation has  steadily  fallen  behind.     There  are  hundreds  more 
where  the  people  of  a  community  have  drawn  wealth  from 
the  soil,  and  with  a  succession  of  good  crops  and  high  prices 
have  accumulated  enough  to  keep  them  comfortable,  and 
then  have  sold  or  leased  their  property  and  moved  into 
town.    The  purchasers  or  tenants  who  replaced  them  have 
been  less  able  to  contribute  to  church  support  or  have  been 
of  a  different  faith  or  race,  and  the  churches  have  found  it 
difficult  to  survive.     Doubtless  some  of  these  churches 
could  be  spared  without  great  loss,  for  in  the  rush  of  real 
or  expected   settlement,   certain   localities  became   over- 
churched,  but  the  spectacle  of  scores  of  abandoned  churches 
in  the  Middle  West  has  as  doleful  an  appearance  as  aban- 
doned farms  in  New  England. 

164.  Is  It  Worth  Preserving? — It  would  be  a  misfor- 
tune for  the  church  to  perish  out  of  the  rural  districts,  for 
it  performs  a  religious  function  that  no  other  institution 
performs.     It  cherishes  the  beliefs  that  have  strengthened 
man  through  the  ages  and  given  him  the  upward  look  that 
betokens  faith  in  his  destiny  and  power  in  his  life.    It 
calls  out  the  best  that  is  in  him  to  meet  the  tasks  of  every 
day.     It  ministers  to  him  in  times  of  greatest  need.     It 
teaches  him  how  to  relate  himself  to  an  Unseen  Power  and 
to  the  fellowship  of  human  kind.     The  meeting-house  is  a 
community  centre  drawing  to  itself  like  a  magnet  family 
groups  and  individuals  from  miles  around,   overcoming 
their  isolation  and  breaking  into  the  daily  monotony  of 
their  lives,  and  with  its  worship  and  its  sermon  awakening 
new  thoughts  and  impulses  for  the  enrichment  of  life.     Nor 
does  its  ministry  confine  itself  to  things  of  the  spirit.     The 
weekly  Sunday  assembly  provides  opportunity  for  social 
intercourse,  if  no  more  than  an  exchange  of  greetings,  and 


158        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

now  and  then  a  sociable  evening  gathering  or  anniversary 
occasion  brings  an  added  social  opportunity. 

165.  The  Country  Minister. — The  faithful  rural  minis- 
ter also  carries  the  church  to  the  people.     His  parish  is 
broad,  but  he  finds  his  way  into  the  homes  of  his  parishion- 
ers, acquaints  himself  with  their  characteristics  and  their 
needs,  and  fits  his  ministrations  to  them.     Especially  does 
he  carry  comfort  to  the  sick  and  soothe  the  suffering  and 
the  dying.     No  other  can  quite  fill  his  place;  no  other  so 
builds  himself  into  the  hearts  of  the  people.     He  may  not 
be  a  great  thinker  or  preach  polished  sermons;  his  hands 
may  be  rough  and  his  clothes  ill-fitting;  but  if  he  is  a  loyal 
friend  and  ministers  to  real  spiritual  need,  he  is  saint  and 
prophet  to  those  whom  he  has  brothered. 

In  the  rural  economy  each  public  functionary  is  worthy 
or  unworthy,  according  to  his  personal  fidelity  to  his  par- 
ticular task.  A  poorly  equipped  board  of  government  is 
not  worth  half  the  salary  of  the  school-teacher.  That  offi- 
cial may  not  hold  his  place  or  gain  the  respect  of  his  pupils 
unless  he  meets  their  needs  of  instruction  with  a  degree  of 
efficiency.  But  a  public  servant  who  fills  full  the  channels 
of  his  usefulness  is  worth  twice  what  he  is  likely  to  get  as 
his  stipulated  wage.  The  community  can  well  afford  to 
look  kindly  upon  a  minister  of  that  type,  to  encourage  him 
in  his  efforts  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  community,  and  to 
contribute  to  an  honorable  stipend  for  his  support. 

1 66.  The  Problems. — The  rural  church  has  its  problems 
and  so  has  the  rural  minister.     There  are  the  indifferent 
people  who  are  irreligious  themselves  and  have  no  share  in 
the  activities  of  the  religious  institution.     There  are  the 
insincere  people  who  belong  to  the  church  but  are  not  sym- 
pathetic in  spirit  or  conduct.    There  are  the  cold-blooded 
people  who  gather  weekly  in  the  meeting-house  but  do 
not  respond  to  intellectual  or  spiritual  stimulus,  and  who 
chill  the  heart  of  the  minister  and  soon  quench  his  enthu- 
siasm.    It  is  not  surprising  if  he  is  restless  and  changes 
location  frequently,  or  if  he  becomes  listless  and  apparently 
indifferent  to  the  welfare  of  his  flock,  when  he  meets  no 
response  and  himself  enjoys  no  stimulus  from  his  own  kind. 


The  Rural  Church  159 

All  these  conditions  constitute  the  spiritual  problem.  Be- 
yond this  there  is  the  institutional  problem.  The  church 
finds  maintenance  difficult,  often  impossible  without  outside 
assistance.  Failing  to  minister  to  any  purely  community 
need  except  on  special  occasions,  or  to  assume  any  responsi- 
bility of  leadership  in  civic  or  social  affairs,  it  does  not 
receive  the  cordial  support  of  the  community  to  which  as  a 
social  institution,  conserving  the  highest  interests,  it  is 
reasonably  entitled.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in 
America  there  can  be  no  established  church  supported  by 
the  State,  as  in  England.  The  church  is  on  a  different 
footing  in  every  community  from  that  of  the  public  school. 
It  is  therefore  dependent  on  the  good-will  of  the  community 
and  must  cultivate  that  good-will  if  it  is  to  succeed.  Most 
rural  churches  have  yet  to  become  a  vital  force,  not  only 
energizing  their  own  members,  but  reaching  out  also  to  the 
whole  community,  seeking  not  their  own  growth  as  their 
chief  end,  but  by  ministering  to  the  community's  needs, 
realizing  a  fuller,  richer  life  of  their  own. 

167.  The  Needs  of  the  Church. — The  rural  church  needs 
reorganization  for  efficiency,  but  changes  must  be  gradual. 
A  local  church  that  is  democratic  in  its  form  of  organization, 
with  no  external  oversight,  is  likely  to  need  strengthening 
in  administration;  a  church  that  intrusts  control  to  a  small 
board  or  is  governed  from  the  outside  probably  needs  to 
get  closer  to  the  people,  but  differences  in  church  govern- 
ment are  of  small  practical  consequence.  It  does  not 
appear  that  it  makes  much  difference  in  the  success  of  a 
rural  church  whether  its  organization  is  Episcopal,  Presby- 
terian, or  Congregational.  The  machinery  needs  modern- 
izing, whatever  the  pattern.  It  is  a  part  of  the  task  to  be 
undertaken  by  every  up-to-date  country  minister  to  con- 
sider possible  improvements  in  the  various  departments  of 
the  church.  It  is  as  likely  that  the  children  are  being  as 
inefficiently  taught  in  the  Sunday-school  as  in  the  every- 
day school,  that  organizations  and  opportunities  for  the 
young  people  are  as  lacking  as  in  the  community  at  large, 
that  discussions  in  the  Bible  class  are  as  pointless  as  those 
in  any  local  forum.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  church 


160        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

is  failing  to  make  good  in  a  given  locality  because  it  is 
depending  on  a  few  persons  to  carry  on  its  activities,  and 
these  few  do  not  co-operate  well  with  one  another  or  with 
other  Christian  people.  The  functions  of  the  church  are 
neither  well  understood  nor  properly  performed.  It  has 
small  assets  in  community  good-will,  and  it  is  in  no  real 
sense  a  going  concern. 

1 68.  The  New  Rural  Church. — Here  and  there  a  church 
of  a  new  type  is  meeting  manfully  these  various  needs.  It 
has  set  itself  first  to  answer  the  question  whether  the  church 
is  a  real  religious  force  in  the  community,  and  what  method 
may  best  be  used  to  energize  the  countryside  more  effec- 
tually for  moral  and  religious  ends.  Old  forms  or  tunes  of 
worship  have  needed  changing,  or  an  innovating  individual 
has  taken  a  hand  temporarily.  Then  it  has  faced  the 
practical  problem  of  religious  education.  Most  churches 
maintain  a  Sunday-school  and  a  Woman's  Missionary  or  Aid 
Society.  Certain  of  them  have  young  people's  organiza- 
tions, and  a  few  have  organized  men's  classes  or  clubs. 
Each  of  these  groups  goes  on  its  own  independent  course. 
There  is  no  attempt  to  correlate  the  studies  with  which 
each  concerns  itself,  and  there  is  much  waste  of  effort  in 
holding  group  sessions  that  accomplish  nothing.  The  new 
church  directors  simplify,  correlate,  and  systematize  all  the 
educational  work  that  is  being  attempted,  improve  courses 
of  study  and  methods  of  teaching,  and  propose  to  all  con- 
cerned the  attainment  of  certain  definite  standards.  In  the 
third  place,  the  new  rural  church  adopts  for  itself  a  well- 
considered  programme  of  community  service.  Its  oppor- 
tunity is  unlimited,  but  its  efforts  are  not  worth  much 
unless  it  approaches  the  subject  intelligently,  with  a  knowl- 
edge of  local  conditions,  of  its  own  resources,  and  of  the 
methods  that  have  been  used  successfully  in  other  similar 
localities.  Nothing  less  than  these  three  tasks  of  investi- 
gation, education,  and  service  belong  to  every  church; 
toward  this  ideal  is  moving  an  increasing  number  of 
churches  in  the  country. 


The  Rural  Church  161 


READING  REFERENCES 

BUTTERFIELD:  The  Country  Church  and  th«  Rural  Problem. 

FISKE:  The  Challenge  of  the  Country. 

WILSON  :  The  Church  of  the  Open  Country. 

NESMITH:  Chapter  on  "The  Rural  Church"  in  Social  Ministry. 

HART:  Educational  Resources  of  Village  and  Rural  Communities, 

pages  176-196. 
Report  of  Country  Life  Commission,  1908. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
A   NEW   TYPE   OF  RURAL  INSTITUTION 

169.  A  New  Type  of  Institution. — The  rural  community 
everywhere  is  in  need  of  a  new  social  institution.  Those 
which  exist  have  been  individualistic  in  purpose  and  method 
and  only  incidentally  have  been  socially  constructive.  The 
school  has  existed  to  make  individuals  efficient  intellec- 
tually, that  they  might  be  able  to  struggle  successfully  for 
existence.  The  church  has  existed  as  a  means  to  individual 
salvation  from  future  ill.  Social  good  has  resulted  from 
these  institutions,  but  it  has  not  been  fundamental  in  their 
purpose.  The  new  rural  institution  that  is  needed  is  a 
centre  for  community  reconstruction.  If  the  school  or  the 
church  can  adapt  itself  to  the  need,  either  may  become  such 
an  institution;  if  not,  there  must  be  a  new  type. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  the  characteristic  evil  of  rural 
life  is  the  isolation  of  the  people,  but  this  must  be  under- 
stood to  mean  not  merely  an  isolated  location  of  farm 
dwellings  but  a  lack  of  human  fellowship.  In  the  city  the 
majority  of  people  might  as  well  live  in  isolated  houses  as 
far  as  acquaintance  with  neighbors  is  concerned,  but  they 
do  not  lack  human  fellowship  because  they  have  group 
connections  elsewhere.  In  the  country  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  choose  associates  or  institutional  connections.  There  is 
one  school  prepared  to  receive  the  children  of  a  certain  age, 
and  no  other,  unless  they  are  conveyed  to  a  distance  at 
great  inconvenience;  the  variety  of  suitable  churches  is 
not  large.  It  is  necessary  to  cultivate  neighbors  or  to  go 
without  friendships.  But  rural  social  relations  are  not 
well  lubricated.  There  are  few  common  topics  of  conver- 
sation, except  the  weather,  the  crops,  or  a  bit  of  gossip. 
There  are  few  common  interests  about  which  discussion 
may  centre.  There  is  need  of  an  institution  that  shall 
create  and  conserve  such  common  interests. 

162 


A  New  Type  of  Rural  Institution          163 

170.  A  Community  House. — The  first  task  is  to  bring 
people  together  to  a  common  gathering  place,  where  per- 
fect democracy  will  prevail,  and  where  there  may  be  unre- 
stricted discussion.     There  is  no  objection  to  using  the 
schoolhouse  for  the  purpose,  but  ordinarily  it  is  not  adapted 
to  the  purposes  of  an  assembly-room.    The  meeting-house 
may  serve  the  purpose,  but  to  many  persons  it  seems  a 
desecration  of  a  sacred  building,  and  except  in  the  case 
of  a  single  community  church  there  is  too  much  of   the 
denominational  flavor  about  it  to  make  it  an  unrestricted 
forum.    Ideally  there  should  be  a  community  house  erected 
at  a  convenient  location,  and  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date as  many  as  might  desire  to  assemble.     It  should  be 
equipped  for  all  the  social  uses  to  which  it  might  be  put. 
It  should  be  paid  for  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  all 
the  people,  but  title  to  the  property  should  be  in  the  hands 
of  a  board  of  trustees  or  associates  who  would  be  responsi- 
ble for  its  maintenance  and  for  the  uses  to  which  it  would 
be  put.     These  persons  must  be  men  and  women  of  the 
town  in  whose  judgment  the  people  have  full  confidence. 
Regular  expenses  should  be  met  by  annual  payments,  as 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  sustained  in 
cities  all  over  the  country,  and  by  occasional  entertain- 
ments.   A  limited  endowment  fund  would  be  helpful,  but 
too  large  endowment  tends  to  pauperize  a  local  institu- 
tion. 

171.  Intellectual  Stimulus. — The  second  task  is  to  put 
the  community  house  to  use.     There  are  numerous  ways 
by  which  this  can  be  done,  but  the  best  are  those  that 
fit  local  need.     Of  all  the  needs  the  greatest  is  stimulus  to 
thought.     Ideally  this  should  come  from  the  pulpit  of  the 
rural  church,  but  its  stimulus  is  usually  not  strong,  it  is 
commonly  confined  to  religious  exhortation,  and  it  reaches 
only  a  few.    All  the  people  of  the  community  need  to  think 
seriously  about  their  economic  and  social  interests,  and  to 
be  drawn  out  to  express  themselves  on  such  subjects.     The 
old-fashioned  town  meeting  provided  a  channel  for  such 
discussion  once  a  year.     What  is  needed  is  a  town-meeting 
extension  through  eight  or  nine  months  of  the  year.    The 


164        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

community  house  offers  an  opportunity  for  such  an  exten- 
sion. Under  the  initiative  and  guidance  of  one  or  two 
energetic  local  leaders,  inspired  by  an  occasional  outside 
lecturer,  such  as  can  be  obtained  at  small  expense  from 
agricultural  colleges  and  other  public  agencies,  almost  any 
American  community  ought  to  carry  on  a  forum  of  public 
discussion  for  weeks,  taking  up  first  the  most  urgent  ques- 
tions of  community  interest  and  passing  on  gradually  to 
matters  of  broader  concern. 

172.  Social  Satisfaction. — As  the  adults  of  the  com- 
munity need  intellectual  stimulus,  so  the  young  people 
need  social  satisfactions.  The  salvation  of  the  American 
rural  community  lies  largely  in  the  contentment  of  the 
young  people,  for  without  that  quality  of  mind  they  leave 
the  country  for  the  town,  or  settle  back  in  an  unprogressive, 
unsocial  state  of  sullen  resignation.  There  must  be  oppor- 
tunity for  recreation.  The  community  house  should  func- 
tion for  the  entertainment  of  its  constituency  in  ways  that 
approve  themselves  to  the  associates  in  charge.  But  it  is 
not  so  much  entertainment  that  is  wanted  as  an  opportunity 
for  sociability,  occasions  when  all  the  youth  of  the  com- 
munity can  meet  for  mutual  acquaintance  and  the  begin- 
nings of  courtship,  and  for  the  stimulus  that  comes  from 
human  association.  If  association  and  activity  are  char- 
acteristic of  normal  social  life,  it  is  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  rural  young  people  will  be  contented  to  vegetate.  If 
they  cannot  have  legitimate  opportunities  to  realize  their 
impulse  to  associated  activity,  they  will  provide  less  satis- 
factory unconventional  opportunities.  One  of  the  best 
means  for  promoting  sociability  and  providing  an  outlet 
for  youthful  energy  in  concert  has  been  found  in  the  use 
of  music.  The  old-fashioned  singing-school  filled  a  real 
need  and  its  passing  has  left  a  distinct  gap.  Where  musical 
gatherings  have  been  revived  experience  has  shown  that 
they  are  a  most  effective  stimulus  to  a  new  community 
consciousness.  The  country  church  choir  has  long  been 
regarded  as  a  useful  social  as  well  as  religious  institution, 
but  the  community  chorus  is  far  more  effective.  It  is 
possible  to  uncover  latent  talent  and  to  cultivate  it  so 


A  New  Type  of  Rural  Institution          165 

that  it  will  furnish  more  attractive  entertainment  for  the 
people  than  that  which  is  imported  at  far  greater  expense 
from  outside.  Among  the  foreigners  who  are  finding  their 
way  into  rural  localities,  there  is  sometimes  discovered  a 
musical  ability  that  outranks  the  native,  and  no  other 
method  of  approach  to  the  immigrant  is  so  easy  as  by 
giving  his  young  people  a  place  in  the  social  activities  of 
the  community. 

173.  Continuation  Schooling. — A  further  use  for  the 
community  house  is  educational.     The  older  education  of 
the  district  school  was  defective,  and  the  new  education  is 
not  enjoyed  by  many  a  farmer's  boy  or  girl,  because  they 
cannot  be  spared  in  the  later  years  of  youth  for  long  school- 
ing.   An  adaptation  of  the  idea  of  continuation  schools  for 
rural  young  people  so  that  they  may  apply  the  new  sciences 
to  country  life  is  greatly  to  be  desired.     The  local  school 
principal  or  county  superintendent  or  an  extension  teacher 
from  a  State  institution  may  be  found  available  as  director, 
and  it  belongs  to  the  community  to  provide  the  necessary 
funds.     For  older  people  some  of  the  same  courses  are  suit- 
able, but  they  should  be  supplemented  with  lectures  of  all 
sorts.     It  has  been  demonstrated  many  times  that  popular 
lecturers  can  be  secured  at  small  expense  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  especially  in  these  days  when  there  are  so 
many  agencies  to  push  the  new  agricultural  science,  and 
other  subjects  over  a  wide  range  of  interests  will  not  fail  to 
find  exponents  if  a  demand  for  them  can  be  created. 

174.  Community  Leadership. — In  the  last  analysis  the 
prime  factor  in  the  rural  situation  is  the  community  leader. 
Institutions  can  do  little  for  the  enrichment  of  rural  life  if 
personality  is  wanting.     It  is  the  leader's  energy  that  keeps 
the  wheels  of  the  machinery  turning,  his  wisdom  that  gears 
their  action  to  the  needs  of  the  community.     It  is  desirable 
that  the  leader  should  spring  from  the  community  itself, 
acquainted  with  its  needs  and  voicing  its  aspirations.     But 
more  communities  get  their  leaders  from  outside  and  are 
often  more  willing  to  accept  such  a  leader  than  if  he  came 
up  out  of  their  midst,  for  the  proverb  is  often  true  that  a 
prophet  is  without  honor  in  his  own  country. 


166       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

175.  Qualities  of  Leadership. — Social  leadership  is  de- 
pendent upon  certain  qualities  in  the  person  who  leads  and 
in  those  who  are  led.  The  attitude  of  the  people  of  the 
community  is  fundamental.  The  stimulus  that  the  leader 
applies  must  find  response  in  their  inner  natures  if  his 
energy  is  to  become  socially  effective.  If  there  is  not  a 
latent  capacity  to  action,  no  amount  of  stimulus  will  avail. 
It  is  safe  to  assume  that  there  are  few  local  communities 
in  America  that  will  fail  to  respond  to  the  right  kind  of 
leadership,  but  certain  qualities  in  the  leader  are  essential 
for  inspiration.  It  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  be 
country  born,  but  it  is  essential  that  he  love  the  country, 
appreciate  its  opportunities,  and  be  conscious  of  its  needs. 
He  cannot  hope  to  call  out  these  qualities  in  the  people  if 
he  does  not  himself  possess  them.  And  it  must  be  a  genu- 
ine love  and  appreciation  that  is  in  him,  for  only  sincerity 
and  perfect  honesty  can  win  men  for  long.  It  is  essential 
that  he  have  breadth  of  sympathy  for  all  the  interests  of 
the  people  that  he  seeks  for  his  own;  he  may  not  think 
lightly  of  farming  or  storekeeping,  of  education  or  recrea- 
tion, of  morals  or  religion.  He  must  be  devoted  to  the 
community,  its  servant  as  well  as  its  leader,  content  to 
build  himself  into  its  life.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
leader  should  be  a  trained  expert,  a  finished  product  of  the 
schools,  desirable  as  such  equipment  is,  but  it  is  essential 
that  he  know  how  to  call  out  the  best  that  is  in  others, 
to  play  upon  their  emotions,  to  appeal  to  their  intellects, 
to  energize  their  wills.  He  must  not  only  understand  their 
present  mental  processes,  but  he  must  have  a  vision  of 
them  when  they  have  become  transformed  with  new  im- 
pulses and  ambitions,  and  converted  to  new  and  nobler 
purposes.  He  needs  an  unquenchable  enthusiasm,  a  gentle 
patience,  an  invincible,  aggressive  persistency,  a  contagious 
optimism  that  will  carry  him  over  every  obstacle  to  ulti- 
mate victory.  It  is  essential  that  he  possess  fertility  of 
resource  to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances,  that  he  have 
power  to  call  out  action  and  executive  ability  to  direct  it. 
Most  important  of  all  is  a  magnetic  personality  such  as 
belonged  to  the  great  chieftains  of  history  who  in  war  or 


A  New  Type  of  Rural  Institution          167 

peace  have  been  able  to  attract  followers  and  to  mould 
them  in  obedience  to  their  own  will. 

176.  Broad  Opportunities. — A  leader  such  as  that  de- 
scribed has  an  almost  unlimited  field  of  opportunity  to 
mould  social  life.  In  the  city  the  opportunity  for  leader- 
ship may  seem  to  be  larger,  but  few  can  dominate  more 
than  a  small  group.  In  the  country  the  start  may  be  slower 
and  more  discouraging,  but  the  goal  reaches  out  ahead. 
From  better  agriculture  the  leader  may  draw  on  the  people 
to  better  social  ideals,  to  a  new  appreciation  of  education 
and  broad  culture,  to  a  truer  understanding  of  ethics  and 
religion.  He  may  refashion  institutions  that  may  express 
the  new  in  modern  terms.  But  when  this  is  accomplished 
his  work  is  not  done.  He  may  reach  out  over  the  country- 
side and  make  his  village  a  nucleus  for  wider  progress 
through  a  whole  county.  Even  then  his  influence  is  not 
spent.  The  rural  communities  in  America  are  feeders  of 
the  cities;  in  them  is  the  nursery  of  the  men  and  women 
who  are  to  become  leaders  in  the  larger  circles  of  business 
and  professional  life,  in  journalism  and  literature,  in  religion 
and  social  reform.  Many  a  rural  teacher  or  pastor  has 
built  himself  into  the  affections  of  a  boy  or  a  girl,  incarnat- 
ing for  them  the  noblest  ideals  and  stimulating  them  to 
achievement  and  service  in  an  environment  that  he  him- 
self could  never  hope  to  fill  and  with  a  power  of  influence 
that  he  could  never  expect  to  wield.  The  avenues  of  oppor- 
tunity are  becoming  more  numerous.  The  teacher  and  the 
minister  have  advantages  of  leadership  over  the  county 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  secretary  and  the  vil- 
lage nurse,  but  since  personal  qualities  are  the  determining 
factors,  no  man  or  woman,  whatever  their  position,  can 
make  good  the  claim  without  proving  ability  by  actual 
achievement.  Any  man  or  woman  who  enters  a  particular 
community  for  the  first  time,  or  returns  to  it  from  college, 
may  become  a  dynamo  of  blessing  to  it.  There  waits  for 
such  a  leader  the  loyalty  of  the  boys  who  may  be  won  for 
noble  manhood,  of  the  girls  who  may  become  worthy 
mothers  of  a  better  generation  of  future  citizens,  of  men 
and  women  for  whom  the  glamour  of  youth  has  passed 


168        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

into  the  sober  reality  of  maturer  years,  but  who  are  still 
capable  of  seeing  visions  of  a  richer  life  that  they  and  their 
children  may  yet  enjoy.  There  are  ready  to  his  hand  the 
institutions  that  have  played  an  important  part,  however 
inefficiently  in  rural  life,  the  heritage  of  social  custom  and 
community  character  that  have  come  down  from  the  past, 
and  the  material  environment  that  helps  or  hinders  but 
does  not  control  human  relations  and  human  deeds.  These 
constitute  the  measure  of  his  world;  these  are  clay  for  the 
potter  and  instruments  for  his  working;  upon  him  is  laid 
the  responsibility  of  the  product. 

READING   REFERENCES 

CURTIS:  Play  and  Recreation  for  the  Open  Country,  pages  195-259. 
FISKE:  The  Challenge  of  the  Country,  pages  225-266. 
COOLEY:  Human  Nature  and  the  Social  Order,  pages  283-325. 
McNuTT:  "Ten  Years  in  a  Country  Church,"  World's  Work,  De- 
cember, 1910. 

MCKEEVER:  Farm  Boys  and  Girls,  pages  129-145. 
CARNEY:  Country  Life  and  the  Country  School,  pages  1-17,  302-327. 


PART  IV— SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  CITY 

CHAPTER  XXV 
FROM  COUNTRY  TO  CITY 

177.  Enlarging  the  Social  Environment. — In  the  story 
of  the  family  and  the  rural  community  it  has  become  clear 
that  the  normal  individual  as  he  grows  to  maturity  lives  in 
an  expanding  circle  of  social  relations.     The  primary  unit 
of  his  social  life  is  the  family  in  the  home.     There  the  ele- 
mental human  instincts  are  satisfied.     There  while  a  child 
he  learns  the  first  lessons  of  social  conduct.     From  the 
home  he  enters  into  the  larger  life  of  the  community.     He 
takes  his  place  in  the  school,  where  he  touches  the  lives  of 
other  children  and  learns  that  he  is  a  part  of  a  larger  social 
order.     He  gets  into  the  current  of  community  life  and 
finds  out  the  importance  of  local  institutions  like  the  coun- 
try store  and  the  meeting-house.     He  becomes  accustomed 
to  the  ways  that  are  characteristic  of  country  people,  and 
finds  a  place  for  himself  in  the  industry  and  social  activity 
of  the  countryside.     When  the  boy  who  has  grown  up  in  a 
rural  community  comes  to  manhood,  his  natural  tendency 
is  to  accept  the  occupation  of  farming  with  which  he  has 
become  acquainted  in  boyhood,  to  woo  a  country  maid  for 
a  mate,  and  to  make  for  himself  a  rural  home  after  the 
pattern  of  his  ancestors.     In  that  case  his  social  environ- 
ment remains  restricted.     His  relations  are  with  nature 
rather  than  with  men.     His  horizon  is  narrow,  his  interests 
limited.    The  institutions  that  mould  him  are  few,  the 
forces  that  stimulate  to  progress  are  likely  to  be  lacking 
altogether.    He  need  not,  but  he  usually  does,  cease  to 
grow. 

178.  Characteristics  of  the  City. — Certain  individuals 
find  the  static  life  of  the  country  unbearable.     Their  nature 
demands  larger  scope  in  an  expanding  environment.    To 

169 


170       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

them  the  stirring  town  beckons,  and  they  are  restless  until 
they  escape.  The  city  is  a  centre  of  social  life  where  the 
individual  feels  a  greater  stimulus  than  in  the  home  or  the 
rural  community.  It  resembles  the  family  and  the  village 
in  providing  social  relations  and  an  interchange  of  ideas, 
but  it  surpasses  them  in  the  large  scale  of  its  activities.  It 
presents  many  of  the  same  social  characteristics  that  they 
do,  but  geared  in  each  case  for  higher  speed.  Its  activities 
are  swifter  and  more  varied.  Its  associations  are  more 
numerous  and  kaleidoscopic.  Its  people  are  less  indepen- 
dent than  in  the  country;  control,  economic  and  political, 
is  more  pervasive,  even  though  crude  in  method.  Change 
is  more  rapid  in  the  city,  because  the  forces  that  are  at 
work  are  charged  with  dynamic  energy.  Weakness  in 
social  structure  and  functioning  is  conspicuous.  In  the 
large  cities  all  these  are  intensified,  but  they  are  everywhere 
apparent  whenever  a  community  passes  beyond  the  village 
stage.  The  line  that  separates  the  village  or  small  town 
from  the  city  is  an  arbitrary  one.  The  United  States  calls 
those  communities  rural  that  have  a  population  not  exceed- 
ing twenty-five  hundred,  but  it  is  less  a  question  of  popu- 
lation than  of  interests  and  activities.  When  agriculture 
gives  place  to  trade  or  manufacturing  as  the  leading  eco- 
nomic interest;  when  the  community  takes  on  the  social 
characteristics  that  belong  to  urban  life;  and  when  places 
of  business  and  amusement  assume  a  place  of  importance 
rather  than  the  home,  the  school,  and  the  church,  the  com- 
munity passes  into  the  urban  class.  Names  and  forms  of 
government  are  of  small  consequence  in  classification  com- 
pared with  the  spirit  and  ways  of  the  community. 

179.  How  the  City  Grows. — The  city  grows  by  the 
natural  excess  of  births  over  deaths  and  by  immigration. 
Without  immigration  the  city  grows  more  slowly  but  more 
wholesomely.  Immigration  introduces  an  alien  element 
that  has  to  adjust  itself  to  new  ways  and  does  not  always 
fuse  readily  with  the  native  element.  This  is  true  of  immi- 
gration from  the  country  village  as  well  as  from  a  foreign 
country,  but  an  American,  even  though  brought  up  differ- 
ently, finds  it  easier  to  adapt  himself  to  his  new  environ- 


From  Country  to  City  171 

merit.  An  increasingly  large  percentage  of  children  are 
born  and  grow  to  maturity  in  the  city.  There  are  thou- 
sands of  urban  communities  of  moderate  size  in  America, 
where  there  are  few  who  come  in  from  any  distance,  but  for 
nearly  a  hundred  years  in  the  older  parts  of  the  country  a 
rural  migration  has  been  carrying  young  people  into  town, 
and  the  recent  volume  of  foreign  immigration  is  spilling 
over  from  the  large  cities  into  the  smaller  urban  centres, 
so  that  the  mixture  of  population  is  becoming  general. 

1 80.  The  Attraction  of  the  City. — Foreign  immigration 
is  a  subject  that  must  be  treated  by  itself;  rural  immigra- 
tion needs  no  prolonged  discussion  once  the  present  limita- 
tions of  life  in  the  country  are  understood.  Multitudes  of 
ambitious  young  people  are  not  contented  with  the  oppor- 
tunities offered  by  the  rural  environment.  They  want  to 
be  at  the  strategic  points  of  the  world's  activities,  strug- 
gling for  success  in  the  thick  of  things.  The  city  attracts 
the  country  boy  who  is  ambitious,  exactly  as  old  Rome 
attracted  the  immature  German.  The  blare  of  its  noisy 
traffic,  the  glare  of  its  myriad  lights,  the  rush  and  the  roar 
and  the  rabble  all  urge  him  to  get  into  the  scramble  for 
fun  and  gain.  The  crowd  attracts.  The  instinct  of  socia- 
bility draws  people  together.  Those  who  are  unfamiliar 
with  rural  spaces  and  are  accustomed  to  live  in  crowded 
tenements  find  it  lonesome  in  the  country,  and  prefer  the 
discomfort  of  their  congested  quarters  in  town  to  the  pure 
air  and  unspoiled  beauty  of  the  country.  They  love  the 
stir  of  the  streets,  and  enjoy  sitting  on  the  door-steps  and 
wandering  up  and  down  the  sidewalks,  feeling  the  push 
of  the  motley  crowd.  Those  who  leave  the  country  for  the 
city  feel  all  these  attractions  and  are  impelled  by  them,  but 
beyond  these  attractions,  re-enforcing  them  by  an  appeal  to 
the  intellect,  are  the  economic  advantages  that  lie  in  the 
numerous  occupations  and  chances  for  promotion  to  high- 
salaried  positions,  the  educational  advantages  for  children 
and  youth  in  the  better-graded  schools,  the  colleges,  the 
libraries,  and  the  other  cultural  institutions,  and  such  social 
advantages  as  variety  of  entertainment,  modern  conve- 
niences in  houses  and  hotels,  more  beautiful  and  up-to-date 


172        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

churches,  well-equipped  hospitals,  and  comfortable  and 
convenient  means  of  transportation  from  place  to  place. 

181.  Making  a  Countryman  into  a  Citizen. — It  is  im- 
portant to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  young  people  who 
prefer  the  streets  and  blocks  of  the  town  to  the  winding 
country  roads,  and  are  willing  to  sacrifice  what  there  is  of 
beauty  and  leisure  in  rural  life  for  the  ugliness,  sordidness, 
and  continuous  drive  of  the  city;  to  understand  that  a 
greater  driving  force,  stirring  in  the  soul  of  youth  and 
thrusting  upon  him  with  every  item  of  news  from  the  city, 
is  impelling  him  to  disdain  what  the  country  can  give  him 
and  to  magnify  the  counter-attractions  of  the  town.  He 
has  felt  the  monotony  and  the  contracted  opportunity  of 
farm  life  as  he  knows  it.  He  has  experienced  the  drudgery 
of*  it  ever  since  he  began  to  do  the  chores.  Familiar  only 
with  the  methods  of  his  ancestors,  he  knows  that  labor  is 
hard  and  returns  are  few.  He  may  look  across  broad  acres 
that  will  some  day  be  his,  but  he  knows  that  his  father  is 
"  land  poor."  As  a  farmer  he  sees  no  future  for  agriculture. 
He  has  known  the  village  and  the  surrounding  country 
ever  since  he  graduated  from  the  farmyard  to  the  school- 
house,  and  came  into  association  with  the  boys  and  girls 
of  the  neighborhood.  He  knows  the  economic  and  social 
resources  of  the  community  and  is  satisfied  that  he  can 
never  hope  for  much  enjoyment  or  profit  in  the  limited 
rural  environment.  The  school  gave  him  little  mental 
stimulus,  but  opened  the  door  ajar  into  a  larger  world. 
The  church  gave  him  an  orthodox  gospel  in  terms  of  divinity 
and  its  environment  rather  than  humanity  on  earth,  but 
stirred  vaguely  his  aspirations  for  a  fuller  life.  He  has 
sounded  the  depths  of  rural  existence  and  found  it  unsatis- 
fying. He  wants  to  learn  more,  to  do  more,  to  be  more. 

One  eventful  day  he  graduates  from  the  village  to  the 
city,  as  years  before  he  graduated  from  the  home  into  the 
community.  By  boat  or  train,  or  by  the  more  primitive 
method  of  stage-coach  or  afoot,  he  travels  until  he  joins  the 
surging  crowd  that  swarms  in  the  streets.  He  feels  him- 
self thrilling  with  the  consciousness  that  he  is  moving 
toward  success  and  possibly  greatness.  He  does  not  stop 


From  Country  to  City  173 

to  think  that  hundreds  of  those  who  seek  their  fortune  in 
the  city  have  failed,  and  have  found  themselves  far  worse 
off  than  the  contented  folk  back  in  the  home  village.  The 
newcomer  establishes  himself  in  a  boarding-house  or  lodg- 
ing-house which  hundreds  of  others  accept  as  an  apology 
for  a  home,  joins  the  multitude  of  unemployed  in  a  search 
for  work,  and  is  happy  if  he  finds  it  in  an  office  that  is 
smaller  and  darker  than  the  wood-shed  on  the  farm,  or 
behind  a  counter  where  fresh  air  and  sunlight  never  pene- 
trate. He  will  put  up  with  these  non-essentials,  for  he 
expects  in  days  ahead  to  move  higher  up,  when  the  large 
rewards  that  are  worth  while  will  be  his. 

In  the  ranks  of  business  he  measures  his  wits  with  others 
of  his  kind.  He  apes  their  manners,  their  slang,  and  their 
tone  inflections.  He  imitates  their  fashions  in  clothes, 
learns  the  popular  dishes  in  the  restaurants,  and  if  of 
feminine  tastes  gives  up  pie  for  salad.  He  goes  home 
after  hours  to  his  small  and  dingy  bedroom,  tired  from 
the  drain  upon  his  vitality  because  of  ill-ventilated 
rooms  and  ill-nourishing  food,  but  happy  and  free.  There 
are  no  chores  waiting  for  him  now,  and  there  is  somewhere 
to  go  for  entertainment.  Not  far  away  he  may  have  his 
choice  of  theatres  and  moving-picture  shows.  If  he  is 
aesthetically  or  intellectually  inclined,  there  are  art-galleries 
and  libraries  beckoning  him.  If  his  earnings  are  a  pittance 
and  he  cannot  afford  the  theatre,  and  if  his  tastes  do  not 
draw  him  to  library  or  museum,  the  saloon-keeper  is  always 
ready  to  be  his  friend.  The  youth  from  the  country  would 
be  welcomed  at  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  on 
the  other  side  of  the  city,  or  at  a  church  if  there  happened 
to  be  a  social  or  religious  function  that  opened  the  building, 
but  the  saloon  is  always  near,  always  open,  and  always 
cordial.  Poor  or  rich,  or  a  stranger,  it  matters  not,  let  him 
enter  and  enjoy  the  poor  man's  club.  It  is  warm  and 
pleasant  there  and  he  will  soon  make  friends. 

182.  Mental  and  Moral  Changes. — The  readjustments 
that  are  necessary  in  the  transfer  from  country  to  city  are 
not  accomplished  without  considerable  mental  and  moral 
shock.  Changing  habits  of  living  are  paralleled  by  chang- 


174        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

ing  habits  of  thought.  Old  ideas  are  jostled  by  new  every 
hour  of  the  day.  At  the  table,  on  the  street,  in  office  or 
store,  at  the  theatre  or  church  the  currents  of  thought 
are  different.  Social  contacts  are  more  numerous,  relations 
are  more  shifting,  intellectual  affinities  and  repulsions  are 
felt  constantly;  mental  interactions  are  so  frequent  that 
stability  of  beliefs  and  independence  of  thought  give  way 
to  flexibility  and  uncertainty  and  openness  to  impression. 
Group  influence  asserts  its  power  over  the  individual. 

Along  with  the  influence  of  the  group  mind  goes  the 
influence  of  what  may  be  called  the  electrical  atmosphere 
of  the  city.  The  newcomer  from  the  country  is  very  con- 
scious of  it;  to  the  old  resident  it  becomes  second  nature. 
City  life  is  noisy.  The  whole  industrial  system  is  athrob 
with  energy.  The  purring  of  machinery,  the  rattle  and 
roar  of  traffic,  the  clack  and  toot  of  the  automobile,  the 
clanging  of  bells,  and  the  chatter  of  human  tongues  create 
a  babel  that  confuses  and  tires  the  unsophisticated  ear 
and  brain.  They  become  accustomed  to  the  sounds  after 
a  time,  but  the  noise  registers  itself  continually  on  the 
sensitive  nervous  system,  and  many  a  man  and  woman 
breaks  at  last  under  the  strain.  Another  element  that 
adds  to  the  nervous  strain  is  haste.  Life  in  the  city  is  a 
stern  chase  after  money  and  pleasure.  Everybody  hur- 
ries from  morning  until  night,  for  everything  moves  on 
schedule,  and  twenty-four  hours  seem  not  long  enough  to 
do  the  world's  work  and  enjoy  the  world's  fun.  Noise  and 
hurry  furnish  a  mental  tension  that  charges  the  urban 
atmosphere  with  excitement.  Purveyors  of  news  and 
amusement  have  learned  to  cater  to  the  love  of  excitement. 
The  newspaper  editor  hunts  continually  for  sensations,  and 
sometimes  does  not  scruple  to  twist  sober  fact  into  stirring 
fiction.  The  book-stall  and  the  circulating  library  supply 
the  novel  and  the  cheap  magazine  to  give  smack  to  the 
jaded  palate  that  cannot  relish  good  literature.  The  thea- 
tre panders  to  the  appetite  for  a  thrill. 

In  these  circumstances  lie  the  possibilities  of  moral  shock. 
In  the  city  there  is  freedom  from  the  old  restraint  that  the 
country  community  imposed.  In  the  city  the  countryman 


From  Country  to  City  175 

finds  that  he  can  do  as  he  pleases  without  the  neighbors 
shaking  their  heads  over  him.  In  the  absence  of  such 
restraint  and  with  the  social  contact  of  new  friends  he 
may  rapidly  lower  his  moral  standards  as  he  changes  his 
manners  and  his  mental  habits.  It  does  not  take  long 
to  shuffle  off  the  old  ways;  it  does  not  take  much  push  or 
pull  to  make  the  unsophisticated  boy  or  girl  lose  balance 
and  drift  toward  lower  ideals  than  those  with  which  they 
came.  Not  a  few  find  it  hard  to  keep  the  moral  poise  in 
the  whirlpool  of  mental  distraction.  It  is  these  effects  of 
the  urban  environment  that  help  to  explain  the  social 
derelicts  that  abound  in  the  cities.  It  is  the  weakness  of 
human  nature,  along  with  the  economic  pressure,  that 
accounts  for  the  drunkenness,  vice,  and  crime  that  con- 
stitute so  large  a  problem  of  city  life  and  block  the  path  of 
society's  development.  They  are  a  part  of  the  imperfec- 
tion that  is  characteristic  of  this  stage  of  human  progress, 
and  especially  of  the  twentieth-century  city.  They  are 
not  incurable  evils,  they  demand  a  remedy,  and  they 
furnish  an  inspiring  object  of  study  for  the  practitioner  of 
social  disease. 

He  who  escapes  business  and  moral  failure  has  open  wide 
before  him  in  the  city  the  door  of  opportunity.  He  may, 
if  he  will,  meet  all  the  world  and  his  wife  in  places  where 
the  people  gather,  touching  elbows  with  individuals  from 
every  quarter  of  the  country,  with  persons  of  every  class 
and  variety  of  attainment,  with  believers  of  every  political, 
aesthetic,  and  religious  creed.  In  such  an  atmosphere  his 
mind  expands  like  the  exotic  plant  in  a  conservatory.  His 
individual  prejudices  fall  from  him  like  worn-out  leaves 
from  the  trees.  He  begins  to  realize  that  other  people 
have  good  grounds  for  their  opinions  and  practices  that 
differ  from  his  own,  and  that  in  most  cases  they  are  better 
than  his,  and  he  quickly  adjusts  himself  to  them.  The 
city  stimulates  life  by  its  greater  social  resources,  and 
forms  within  its  borders  more  highly  developed  human 
groups.  Beyond  the  material  comforts  and  luxuries  that 
the  city  supplies  are  the  social  values  that  it  creates  in  the 
associations  and  organizations  of  men  and  women  allied 


176        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

for  the  philanthropic,  remedial,  and  constructive  purposes 
that  are  looking  forward  to  the  slow  progress  of  mankind 
toward  its  highest  ideals. 

183.  The   City  as  a   Social  Centre. — The  city  is  an 
epitome  of  national  and  even  world  life,  as  the  farm  is 
community  life  in  miniature.     Its  social  life  is  infinitely 
complex,  as  compared  with  the  rural  village.     Distances 
that  stretch  out  for  miles  in  the  country,  over  fields  and 
woods  and  hills,  are  measured  in  the  city  by  blocks  of 
dwellings  and  public  buildings,  with  intersecting  streets, 
stretching  away  over  a  level  area  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see. 
Social  institutions  correspond  to  the  needs  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  while  there  are  a  few  like  those  in  the  country, 
because  certain  human  needs  are  the  same,  there  is  a  much 
larger  variety  in  the  city  because  of  the  great  number  of 
people  of  different  sorts  and  the  complexity  of  their  de- 
mands.    Every  city  has  its  business  centres  for  finance, 
for  wholesale  trade,  and  for  retail  exchange,  its  centres  for 
government,  and  for  manufacturing;  it  has  its  railroad 
terminals  and  often  its  wharves  and  shipping,  its  libraries, 
museums,  schools,  and  churches.     All  these  are  gathering 
places  for  groups  of  people.     But  there  is  no  one  social 
centre  for  all  classes;  rather,  the  people  of  the  city  are 
associated  in  an  infinite  number  of  large  and  small  groups, 
according  to  the  mutual  interests  of  their  members.     But 
if  the  city  has  no  four  corners,  it  is  itself  a  centre  for  a 
large  district  of  country.    As  the  village  is  the  nucleus  that 
binds  together  outlying  farms  and  hamlets,  so  the  city  has 
far-flung  connections  with  rural  villages  and  small  towns 
in  a  radius  of  many  miles. 

184.  The  Importance  of  the  City. — The  city  has  grown 
up  because  it  was  located  conveniently  for  carrying  on 
manufacturing  and  trade  on  a  large  scale.     It  is  growing 
in  importance  because  this  is  primarily  an  industrial  age. 
Its  population  is  increasing  relatively  to  the  rural  popula- 
tion, and  certain  cities  are  growing  enormously,  in  spite  of 
Mr.  Bryce's  warning  that  it  is  unfortunate  for  any  city  to 
grow  beyond  a  population  of  one  hundred  thousand.     The 
importance  of  the  city  as  a  social  centre  is  apparent  when 
we  remember  that  in  America,  according  to  the  census  of 


From  Country  to  City  177 

1910,  46.3  per  cent  of  the  people  live  in  communities  of 
more  than  2,500  population,  while  31  per  cent  of  the  whole 
are  inhabitants  of  cities  of  25,000  or  more  population. 
When  nearly  one-third  of  all  the  people  of  the  nation  live 
in  communities  of  such  size,  the  large  city  becomes  a  type 
of  social  centre  of  great  significance.  At  the  prevailing 
rate  of  growth  a  majority  of  the  American  people  will  soon 
be  dwelling  in  cities,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  to 
expect  a  reversal  of  tendency  because  modern  invention  is 
making  it  possible  for  fewer  persons  on  the  farm  to  supply 
the  agricultural  products  that  city  people  need.  This 
means,  of  course,  that  the  temper  and  outlook  of  mind 
will  be  increasingly  urban,  that  social  institutions  generally 
will  have  the  characteristics  of  the  city,  that  the  National 
Government  will  be  controlled  by  that  part  of  the  Ameri- 
can citizens  that  so  far  has  been  least  successful  in  govern- 
ing itself  well. 

185.  Municipal  History. — The  city  has  come  to  stay, 
and  there  is  in  it  much  of  good.  It  has  come  into  existence 
to  satisfy  human  need,  and  while  it  may  change  in  charac- 
ter it  is  not  likely  to  be  less  important  than  now.  Its 
history  reveals  its  reasons  for  existence  and  indicates  the 
probabilities  of  its  future.  The  ancient  city  was  an  over- 
grown village  that  had  special  advantages  for  communica- 
tion and  transportation  of  goods,  or  that  was  located  con- 
veniently for  protection  against  neighboring  enemies.  The 
cities  of  Greece  maintained  their  independence  as  political 
units,  but  most  social  centres  that  at  first  were  autonomous 
became  parts  of  a  larger  state.  The  great  cities  were  the 
capitals  of  nations  or  empires,  and  to  strike  at  them  in 
war  was  to  aim  at  the  vitals  of  an  organism.  Such  were 
Thebes  and  Memphis  in  Egypt,  Babylon  and  Nineveh  in 
the  Tigris-Euphrates  valley,  Carthage  and  Rome  in  the 
West.  Such  are  Vienna  and  Berlin,  Paris  and  London 
to-day.  Lesser  cities  were  centres  of  trade,  like  Corinth 
or  Byzantium,  or  of  culture,  such  as  Athens.  Such  was 
Florence  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  such  are  Liverpool  and 
Leipzig  to-day.  The  municipalities  of  the  Roman  Empire 
marked  the  climax  of  civic  development  in  antiquity. 

The  social  and  industrial  life  of  the  Middle  Ages  was 


178       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

rural.  Only  a  few  cities  survived  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire  in  the  West,  and  new  centres  of  importance  did 
not  arise  until  trade  revived  and  the  manufacturing  indus- 
try began  to  concentrate  in  growing  towns  about  the  time 
of  the  Crusades.  Then  artisans  and  tradesmen  found  their 
way  to  points  convenient  to  travel  and  trade,  and  a  city 
population  began  the  processes  of  aggregation  and  congre- 
gation. They  grew  up  rough  in  manners  and  careless  of 
sanitation  and  hygiene,  but  they  developed  efficiency  in 
local  government  and  an  inclination  to  demand  civic  rights 
from  those  who  had  any  outside  claim  of  control;  they 
began  to  take  pride  in  their  public  halls  and  churches,  and 
presently  they  founded  schools  and  universities.  Wealth 
increased  rapidly,  and  some  of  the  cities,  like  the  Hansa 
towns  of  the  north,  and  Venice  and  Genoa  in  the  south, 
commanded  extensive  and  profitable  trade  routes. 

Modern  cities  owe  their  growth  to  the  industrial  revolu- 
tion and  the  consequent  increase  of  commerce.  The  indus- 
trial centres  of  northern  England  are  an  illustration  of  the 
way  in  which  economic  forces  have  worked  in  the  building 
of  cities.  At  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  that 
part  of  Great  Britain  was  far  less  populous  and  progressive 
than  the  eastern  and  southern  counties.  It  had  small 
representation  in  Parliament.  It  was  provincial  in  thought, 
speech,  and  habits.  It  was  given  over  to  agriculture,  small 
trade,  and  rude  home  manufacture.  Presently  came  the 
revolutionary  inventions  of  textile  machinery,  of  the  steam- 
engine,  and  of  processes  for  extracting  and  utilizing  coal 
and  iron.  The  heavy,  costly  machinery  required  capital 
and  the  factory.  Concentrated  capital  and  machinery  re- 
quired workers.  The  working  people  were  forced  to  give 
up  their  small  home  manufacturing  and  their  unprofitable 
farming  and  move  to  the  industrial  barracks  and  work- 
rooms of  the  manufacturing  centres.  These  centres  sprang 
up  where  the  tools  were  most  easily  and  cheaply  obtained, 
and  where  lay  the  coal-beds  and  the  iron  ore  to  be  worked 
over  into  machinery.  From  Newcastle  on  the  east,  through 
Sheffield,  Leeds,  Birmingham,  and  Manchester,  to  Liver- 
pool on  the  west  and  Glasgow  over  the  Scottish  border 


From  Country  to  City  179 

grew  up  a  chain  of  thriving  cities,  and  later  their  people 
were  given  the  ballot  that  was  taken  from  certain  of  the 
depopulated  rural  villages.  These  cities  have  obtained  a 
voice  of  power  in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  In  America 
the  industrial  era  came  somewhat  later,  but  the  same 
process  of  centralizing  industry  went  on  at  the  waterfalls 
of  Eastern  rivers,  at  railroad  centres,  and  at  ocean,  lake, 
and  Gulf  ports.  Commerce  has  accelerated  the  growth  of 
many  of  these  manufacturing  towns.  Increase  of  industry 
and  population  has  been  especially  rapid  in  the  great  ports 
that  front  the  two  oceans,  through  whose  gates  pour  the 
floods  of  immigrants,  and  in  the  interior  cities  like  Chicago, 
that  lie  at  especially  favorable  points  for  railway,  lake,  or 
river  traffic.  As  in  the  Middle  Ages,  universities  grew 
because  teachers  went  where  students  were  gathered,  and 
students  were  attracted  to  the  place  where  teachers  were 
to  be  found,  so  in  the  larger  cities  the  more  people  there 
are  and  the  more  numerous  is  the  population,  the  greater 
the  amount  of  business.  It  pays  to  be  near  the  centre  of 
things. 

READING  REFERENCES 

HOWE:  The  Modern  City  and  Its  Problems,  pages  9-49. 

GILLETTE:  Constructive  Rural  Sociology,  pages  32-46. 

STRONG:  Our  World,  pages  228-283. 

NEARING  AND  WATSON:  Economics,  pages  123-132. 

GIRY  AND  RE VILLE  :  Emancipation  of  the  Medieval  Towns. 

BLISS:  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  art.  "Cities." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  MANUFACTURING   ENTERPRISE 

1 86.  Preponderance  of  Economic  Interests. — Such  a 
social  centre  as  the  city  has  several  functions  to  perform  for 
its  inhabitants.     Though  primarily  concerned  with  busi- 
ness, the  people  have  other  interests  to  be  conserved;  the 
city,  therefore,  has  governmental,  educational,  and  recre- 
ational functions  as  a  social  organization,  and  within  its 
limits  all  kinds  of  human  concerns  find  their  sponsors  and 
supporters.     Unquestionably,   the  economic  interests  are 
preponderant.     On  the  principle  that  social  structure  cor- 
responds to  function,  the  structure  of  the  city  lends  itself 
to  the  performance  of  the  economic  function.     Business 
streets  are  the  principal  thoroughfares.     Districts  near  the 
great  factories  are  crowded  with  the  tenements  that  shelter 
the  workers.     Little  room  is  left  for  breathing-places  in 
town,  and  little  leisure  in  which  to  breathe.     Government 
is  usually  in  the  hands  of  professional  politicians  who  are 
too  willing  to  take  their  orders  from  the  cohort  captains  of 
business.     Morals,  aesthetics,  and  recreation  are  all  sub- 
ordinate to  business.     Even  religion  is  mainly  an  affair  of 
Sunday,  and  appears  to  be  of  relatively  small  consequence 
compared  with  business  or  recreation.     The  great  prob- 
lems of  the  city  are  consequently  economic  at  bottom. 
Poverty    and    misery,    drunkenness,   unemployment,   and 
crime  are  all  traceable  in  part,  at  least,  to  economic  de- 
ficiency.    Economic  readjustments  constitute  the  crying 
need  of  the  twentieth-century  city. 

187.  The  Manufacturing  Industry. — It  is  the  function 
of  the  agriculturist  and  the  herdsman,  the  miner  and  the 
lumberman,  to  produce  the  raw  material.     The  sailor  and 
the  train-hand,  the  longshoreman  and  the  teamster,  trans- 
port them  to  the  industrial  centres.     It  is  the  business  of 

180 


The  Manufacturing  Enterprise  181 

the  manufacturer  and  his  employees  to  turn  them  into  the 
finished  product  for  the  use  of  society.  Manufacturing  is 
the  leading  occupation  in  thousands  of  busy  towns  and 
small  cities  of  all  the  industrial  nations  of  western  Europe 
and  America,  and  shares  with  commerce  and  trade  as  a 
leading  enterprise  in  the  cosmopolitan  centres.  The  mer- 
chant or  financier  who  thinks  his  type  of  emporium  or 
exchange  is  the  only  municipal  centre  of  consequence,  needs 
only  to  mount  to  the  top  of  a  tall  building  or  climb  a 
suburban  hill  where  he  can  look  off  over  the  city  and  see 
the  many  smoking  chimneys,  to  realize  the  importance  of 
the  factory.  With  thousands  of  tenement-house  dwellers 
it  is  as  natural  to  fall  into  the  occupation  of  a  factory  hand 
as  in  the  rural  regions  for  the  youth  to  become  a  farmer. 
The  growing  child  who  leaves  school  to  help  support  the 
family  has  never  learned  a  craftsman's  trade,  but  he  may 
find  a  subordinate  place  among  the  mill  or  factory  hands 
until  he  gains  enough  skill  to  handle  a  machine.  From 
that  time  until  age  compels  him  to  join  the  ranks  of  the 
unemployed  he  is  bound  to  his  machine,  as  firmly  as  the 
mediaeval  serf  was  bound  to  the  soil.  Theoretically  he  is 
free  to  sell  his  labor  in  the  highest  market  and  to  cross  the 
continent  if  he  will,  but  actually  he  is  the  slave  of  his 
employer,  for  he  and  his  family  are  dependent  upon  his 
daily  wage,  and  he  cannot  afford  to  lose  that  wage  in  order 
to  make  inquiries  about  the  labor  market  elsewhere.  The- 
oretically he  is  a  citizen  possessed  of  the  franchise  and 
equal  in  privilege  and  importance  to  his  employer  as  a 
member  of  society,  but  actually  he  must  vote  for  the  party 
or  the  man  who  is  most  likely  to  benefit  him  economically, 
and  he  knows  that  he  occupies  a  position  of  far  less  im- 
portance politically  and  socially  than  his  employer.  Em- 
ployment is  an  essential  in  making  a  living,  but  it  is  an 
instrument  that  cuts  two  ways — it  establishes  an  aristoc- 
racy of  wealth  and  privilege  for  the  employer  and  a  servile 
class  of  employees  who  often  are  little  better  than  peasants 
of  the  belt  and  wheel. 

188.     History  of  Manufacturing. — The  history  of  the 
manufacturing  industry  is  a  curious  succession  of  enslave- 


182       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

ment  and  emancipation.  Until  within  a  century  and  a 
half  it  was  closely  connected  with  the  home.  Primitive 
women  fashioned  the  utensils  and  clothing  of  the  primitive 
family,  and  when  slaves  were  introduced  into  the  house- 
hold it  became  their  task  to  perform  those  functions.  The 
slave  was  a  bondman.  Neither  his  person  nor  his  time  was 
his  own,  and  he  could  not  hold  property;  but  he  was  taken 
care  of,  fed  and  clothed  and  housed,  and  by  a  humane 
master  was  kindly  treated  and  even  made  a  friend.  When 
the  slave  became  a  serf  on  the  manorial  estate  of  mediaeval 
Europe,  manufacturing  was  still  a  household  employment 
and  old  methods  were  still  in  use.  These  sufficed,  as  there 
was  little  outside  demand  from  potential  buyers,  due  to 
general  poverty  and  lack  of  the  means  of  exchange  and 
transportation.  Certain  industries  became  localized,  like 
the  forging  of  iron  instruments  at  the  smithy  and  the  grind- 
ing of  grain  at  the  mill,  and  the  monastery  buildings  in- 
cluded apartments  for  various  kinds  of  handicraft,  but  the 
factory  was  not  yet.  Then  artisans  found  their  way  to 
the  town,  associated  themselves  with  others  of  their  craft, 
and  accepted  the  relation  of  journeyman  in  the  employ  of 
a  master  workman;  there,  too,  the  young  apprentice  learned 
his  trade  without  remuneration.  The  group  was  a  small 
one.  For  greater  strength  in  local  rivalries  they  organized 
craft  guilds  or  associations,  and  established  over  all  mem- 
bers convenient  rules  and  restrictions.  Increasing  oppor- 
tunities for  exchange  of  goods  stimulated  production,  but 
the  output  of  hand  labor  was  limited  in  amount.  The 
position  of  the  craftsman  locally  was  increasingly  impor- 
tant, and  his  fortunes  were  improving.  The  craft  guilds 
successfully  disputed  with  their  rivals  for  a  share  in  the 
government  of  the  city;  there  was  democracy  in  the  guild, 
for  master  and  journeyman  were  both  included,  and  they 
had  interests  much  in  common.  A  journeyman  confidently 
expected  to  become  a  master  in  a  workshop  of  his  own. 

189.  Alteration  of  Status. — Under  the  factory  system 
the  employee  becomes  one  of  many  industrial  units,  having 
no  social  or  guild  relation  to  his  employer,  receiving  a 
money  wage  as  a  quit  claim  from  his  employer,  and  de- 


The  Manufacturing  Enterprise  183 

pendent  upon  himself  for  labor  and  a  living.  For  a  time 
after  the  factory  system  came  into  vogue  there  were  small 
shops  where  the  employer  busied  himself  among  his  men 
and  personally  superintended  them,  but  the  large  factory 
tends  to  displace  the  small  workshop,  the  corporation  takes 
the  place  of  the  individual  employer,  and  the  employee 
becomes  as  impersonal  a  cog  in  the  labor  system  as  is  any 
part  of  the  machine  at  which  he  works.  It  used  to  be  the 
case  that  a  thrifty  workman  might  hope  to  become  in  the 
future  an  employer,  but  now  he  has  become  a  permanent 
member  of  a  distinct  class,  for  the  large  capital  required 
for  manufacturing  is  beyond  his  reach.  The  manufactur- 
ing industry  is  continually  passing  under  the  management 
of  fewer  individuals,  while  the  number  of  operatives  in 
each  factory  tends  to  increase.  With  concentration  of 
management  goes  concentration  of  wealth,  and  the  gap 
widens  between  rich  and  poor.  Out  of  the  modern  factory 
system  has  come  the  industrial  problem  with  all  its  varieties 
of  skilled  and  unskilled  work,  woman  and  child  labor, 
sweating,  wages,  hours  and  conditions  of  labor,  unemploy- 
ment, and  other  difficulties. 

190.  The  Working  Grind. — There  are  many  manufac- 
turing towns  and  small  cities  that  are  built  on  one  industry. 
Thousands  of  workers,  young  and  old,  answer  the  morning 
summons  of  the  whistle  and  pour  into  the  factory  for  a 
day's  labor  at  the  machine.  A  brief  recess  at  noon  and  the 
work  is  renewed  for  the  second  half  of  the  day.  Weary  at 
night,  the  workers  tramp  home  to  the  tenements,  or  hang 
to  the  trolley  strap  that  is  the  symbol  of  the  five-cent 
commuter,  and  recuperate  for  the  next  day's  toil.  They 
are  cogs  in  the  great  wheel  of  industry,  units  in  the  great 
sum  of  human  energy,  indispensable  elements  in  the  prog- 
ress of  economic  success.  Sometimes  they  seem  less  prized 
than  the  costly  machines  at  which  they  work,  sometimes 
they  fall  exhausted  in  the  ranks,  as  the  soldier  in  the 
trenches  drops  under  the  attack,  but  they  are  absolutely 
essential  to  wealth  and  they  are  learning  that  they  are 
indispensable  to  one  another.  In  the  development  of 
social  organization  the  working  people  are  gaining  a  larger 


184       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

part.  The  factory  is  educating  them  to  a  consciousness  of 
the  solidarity  of  their  class  interests.  All  class  organiza- 
tions have  their  faults,  but  they  teach  their  members 
group  values  and  the  dependence  of  the  individual  on  his 
fellows. 

191.  The  Benefits  of  the  New  Industry  to  the  Workers. 
—It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  indus  trial  revolution 
and  the  age  of  machinery  have  been  a  social  misfortune. 
The  benefits  that  have  come  to  the  laboring  people,  as 
well  as  to  their  employers,  must  be  put  into  the  balance 
against  the  evils.  There  is  first  of  all  the  great  increase  of 
manufactured  products  that  have  been  shared  in  by  the 
workers  and  the  greatly  reduced  price  of  many  necessaries 
of  life,  such  as  matches,  pins,  and  cooking  utensils.  In- 
vention has  eased  many  kinds  of  labor  and  taken  them 
away  from  the  overburdened  housewife,  and  new  machinery 
is  constantly  lightening  the  burden  of  the  farm  and  the 
home.  Invention  has  broadened  the  scope  of  labor,  open- 
ing continually  new  avenues  to  the  workers.  It  is  difficult 
to  see  how  the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  people  in  the 
United  States  could  have  found  employment  without  the 
typewriter,  the  automobile,  and  the  numerous  varieties  of 
electrical  application.  The  great  number  of  modern  con- 
veniences that  have  come  to  be  regarded  as  necessaries 
even  in  the  homes  of  the  working  people,  and  the  local 
improvements  in  streets  and  sidewalks,  schools  and  play- 
grounds that  are  possible  because  of  increasing  wealth,  are 
all  due  to  the  new  type  of  industry. 

Conditions  of  labor  are  better.  Where  building  laws 
are  in  force,  factories  are  lighter,  cleaner,  and  better  venti- 
lated than  were  the  houses  and  shops  of  the  pre-factory 
age,  and  the  hours  of  labor  that  are  necessary  to  earn  a 
living  have  been  greatly  reduced  in  most  industries.  There 
have  been  mental  and  moral  gains,  also.  It  requires  men- 
tal application  to  handle  machinery.  An  uneducated  im- 
migrant may  soon  learn  to  handle  a  simple  machine,  but 
the  complicated  machinery  that  the  better-paid  workmen 
tend  requires  intelligence,  care,  and  sobriety.  The  age  of 
machinery  has  brought  with  it  emancipation  from  slavery, 


The  Manufacturing  Enterprise  185 

indenture,  and  imprisonment  for  debt,  and  has  made  pos- 
sible a  new  status  for  the  worker  and  his  children.  The 
laborer  in  America  is  a  citizen  with  a  vote  and  a  right  to 
his  own  opinion  equal  to  that  of  his  employer;  he  has  time 
and  money  enough  to  buy  and  read  the  newspaper;  and  he 
is  encouraged  and  helped  to  educate  his  children  and  to 
prepare  them  for  a  place  in  the  sun  that  is  ampler  than 
his  own. 

READING  REFERENCES 

CHEYNEY:  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England,  pages  199-239. 

NEARING  AND  WATSON:  Economics,  pages  206-212,  256-266. 

HENDERSON:  Social  Elements,  pages  143-156. 

ADAMS  AND  SUMNER:  Labor  Problems,  pages  3-15. 

BOGART:  Economic  History  of  the  United  States,  pages  130-169,  356- 

399- 


CHAPTER  XXVH 
THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM 

192.  What  It  Means. — The  industrial  problem  as  a 
whole  is  a  problem  of  adjusting  the  relations  of  employer 
and  employee  to  each  other  and  to  the  rapidly  changing  age 
in  the  midst  of  which  industry  exists.     It  is  a  problem  that 
cannot  be  solved  in  a  moment,  for  it  has  grown  out  of  pre- 
vious conditions  and  relationships.     It  must  be  considered 
in  its  causes,  its  alignments,  the  difficulties  of  each  party, 
the  efforts  at  solution,  and  the  principles  and  theories  that 
are  being  worked  out  for  the  settlement  of  the  problem. 

193.  Conflict  Between  Industrial  Groups. — The  indus- 
trial problem  is  not  entirely  an  economic  problem,  but  it  is 
such  primarily.     The  function  of  employer  and  employee 
is  to  produce  material  goods  that  have  value  for  exchange. 
Both  enter  into  the  economic  relation  for  what  they  can 
get  out  of  it  in  material  gain.     Selfish  desire  tends  to  over- 
come any  consideration  of  each  other's  needs  or  of  their 
mutual  interests.     There  is  a  continual  conflict  between  the 
wage-earner  who  wants  to  make  a  living  and  the  employer 
who  wants  to  make  money,  and  neither  stops  long  to  con- 
sider the  welfare  of  society  as  a  whole  when  any  specific 
issue  arises.     The  conflict  between  individuals  has  devel- 
oped into  a  class  problem  in  which  the  organized  forces  of 
labor  confront  the  organized  forces  of  capital,  with  little 
disposition  on  either  side  to  surrender  an  advantage  once 
gained  or  to  put  an  end  to  the  conflict  by  a  frank  recogni- 
tion of  each  other's  rights. 

It  is  not  strange  that  this  conflict  has  continued  to  vex 
society.  Conflict  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  imper- 
fectly adjusted  groups.  It  seems  to  be  a  necessary  pre- 
liminary to  co-operation,  as  war  is.  It  will  continue  until 
human  beings  are  educated  to  see  that  the  interests  of  all 

186 


The  Industrial  Problem  187 

are  paramount  to  the  interests  of  any  group,  and  that  in 
the  long  run  any  group  will  gain  more  of  real  value  for 
itself  by  taking  account  of  the  interests  of  a  rival.  Rail- 
road history  in  recent  years  has  made  it  very  plain  that 
neither  railway  employees  nor  the  public  have  gained  as 
much  by  hectoring  the  railroad  corporations  as  either 
would  have  gained  by  considering  the  interests  of  the  rail- 
road as  well  as  its  own. 

Industrial  conflict  is  due  in  great  part  to  the  unwilling- 
ness of  the  employer  to  deal  fairly  by  his  employee. 
There  have  been  worthy  exceptions,  of  course,  but  capi- 
talists in  the  main  have  not  felt  a  responsibility  to  consider 
the  interests  of  the  workers.  It  has  been  a  constant  temp- 
tation to  take  advantage  of  the  power  of  wealth  for  the 
exploitation  of  the  wage-earning  class.  Unfortunately,  the 
modern  industrial  period  began  with  economic  control  in 
the  hands  of  the  employer,  for  with  the  transfer  of  industry 
to  the  factory  the  laborer  was  powerless  to  make  terms 
with  the  employer.  Unfortunately,  also,  the  disposition  of 
society  was  to  let  alone  the  relations  of  master  and  de- 
pendent in  accordance  with  the  laisser-faire  theory  of  the 
economists  of  that  period.  Government  was  slow  to  legis- 
late in  favor  of  the  helpless  employee,  and  the  abuses  of 
the  time  were  many.  The  process  of  adjustment  has  been 
a  difficult  one,  and  experiment  has  been  necessary  to  show 
what  was  really  helpful  and  practicable. 

194.  More  than  an  Industrial  Problem. — In  the  proc- 
ess of  experiment  it  has  become  clear  that  the  industrial 
problem  is  more  than  an  economic  problem;  secondarily,  it 
is  the  problem  of  making  a  living  that  will  contribute  to 
the  enrichment  of  life.  It  is  not  merely  the  adjustment  of 
the  wage  scale  to  the  profits  of  the  capitalist  by  class  con- 
flict or  peaceful  bargaining,  nor  is  it  the  problem  of  unem- 
ployment or  official  labor.  The  primary  task  may  be  to 
secure  a  better  adjustment  of  the  economic  interests  of 
employer  and  employee  through  an  improvement  of  the 
wage  system,  but  in  the  larger  sense  the  industrial  prob- 
lem is  a  social  and  moral  one.  Sociologists  reckon  among 
the  social  forces  a  distinction  between  elemental  desires 


188       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

and  broader  interests.  Wages  are  able  to  satisfy  the 
elemental  desires  of  hunger  and  sex  feeling  by  making  it 
possible  for  a  man  to  marry  and  bring  up  a  family  and  get 
enough  to  eat;  but  there  are  larger  questions  of  freedom, 
justice,  comity,  personal  and  social  development  that  are 
involved  in  the  labor  problem.  If  wages  are  so  small,  or 
hours  so  long,  or  factory  conditions  so  bad  that  health  is 
affected,  proper  education  made  impossible,  and  recreation 
and  religion  prevented,  the  individual  and  society  suffer 
much  more  than  with  reference  to  the  elemental  desires. 
The  industrial  problem  is,  therefore,  a  complex  problem, 
and  not  one  that  can  be  easily  or  quickly  solved.  Although 
it  is  necessary  to  remember  all  as  parts  of  one  problem  of 
industry,  it  is  a  convenience  to  remember  that  it  is: 

(1)  An  economic  problem,  involving  wages,  hours,  and 
conditions  of  labor. 

(2)  A  social  problem,  involving  the  mental  and  physical 
health  and  the  social  welfare  of  both  the  individual  worker, 
the  family,  and  the  community. 

(3)  An  ethical  problem,  involving  fairness,  justice,  com- 
ity, and  freedom  to  the  employer,  the  employee,  and  the 
public. 

(4)  A  complex  problem,  involving  many  specific  prob- 
lems, chief  of  which  are  the  labor  of  women  and  children, 
immigrant  labor,  prison  labor,  organization  of  labor,  insur- 
ance, unemployment,  industrial  education,  the  conduct  of 
labor  warfare,  and  the  interest  of  the  public  in  the  indus- 
trial problem. 

195.  Characteristics  of  Factory  Life. — Group  life  in  the 
factory  is  not  very  different  in  characteristics  from  group 
life  everywhere.  It  is  an  active  life,  the  hand  and  brain 
of  the  worker  keeping  pace  with  the  speedy  machine,  all 
together  shaping  the  product  that  goes  to  exchange  and 
storage.  It  is  a  social  life,  many  individuals  working  in 
one  room,  and  all  the  operatives  contributing  jointly  to 
the  making  of  the  product.  It  is  under  control.  Captains 
of  industry  and  their  lieutenants  give  direction  to  a  group 
that  has  been  thoroughly  and  efficiently  organized.  With- 
out control  and  organization  industry  could  not  be  success- 


The  Industrial  Problem  189 

fully  carried  on,  but  it  is  open  to  question  whether  indus- 
trial control  should  not  be  more  democratic,  shared  in  by 
representatives  of  the  workers  and  of  the  public  as  well  as 
by  the  representatives  of  corporate  capital  or  a  single  owner. 
It  is  a  life  of  change.  It  does  not  seem  so  to  the  operative 
who  turns  out  the  same  kind  of  a  machine  product  day 
after  day,  sometimes  by  the  million  daily,  but  the  person- 
nel of  the  workers  changes,  and  even  the  machines  from 
time  to  time  give  way  to  others  of  an  improved  type.  It 
is  a  life  that  has  its  peculiar  weaknesses.  The  relations  of 
employer  and  employee  are  not  cordial;  the  health  and 
comfort  of  the  worker  are  often  disregarded;  the  hours  of 
labor  are  too  long  or  the  wages  too  small;  the  whole  work- 
ing staff  is  driven  at  too  high  speed;  the  whole  process  is 
on  a  mechanical  rather  than  a  human  basis,  and  the  mate- 
rial product  is  of  more  concern  than  the  human  producer. 
These  weaknesses  are  due  to  the  concentration  of  control 
in  the  hands  of  employers.  The  industrial  problem  is, 
therefore,  largely  a  problem  of  control. 

196.  Democratizing  Industry. — When  the  modern  in- 
dustrial system  began  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  demo- 
cratic principle  played  a  small  part  in  social  relations. 
Parental  authority  in  the  family,  the  master's  authority  in 
the  school,  hierarchical  authority  in  the  church,  official 
authority  in  the  local  community,  and  monarchical  author- 
ity in  the  nation,  were  almost  universal.  It  is  not  strange 
that  the  authority  of  the  capitalist  in  his  business  was 
unquestioned.  Only  government  had  the  right  to  inter- 
fere in  the  interest  of  the  lower  classes,  and  government 
had  little  care  for  that  interest.  The  democratic  principle 
has  been  gaining  ground  in  family  and  school,  state  and 
church;  it  has  found  grudging  recognition  in  industry. 
This  is  because  the  clash  of  economic  interests  is  keenest 
in  the  factory.  But  even  there  the  grip  of  privilege  has 
loosened,  and  the  possibility  of  democratizing  industry  as 
government  has  been  democratized  is  being  widely  dis- 
cussed. There  is  difference  of  opinion  as  to  how  this 
should  be  done.  The  socialist  believes  that  control  can  be 
transferred  to  the  people  in  no  other  way  than  by  collective 


190       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

ownership.  Others  progressively  inclined  accept  the  prin- 
ciple of  government  regulation  and  believe  that  in  that 
way  the  people,  through  their  political  representatives,  can 
control  the  owners  and  managers.  Others  think  that  the 
best  results  can  be  obtained  by  giving  a  place  on  the  gov- 
erning board  of  an  industry  to  working  men  alongside  the 
representatives  of  capital  and  permitting  them  to  work  out 
their  problems  on  a  mutual  basis.  Each  of  these  methods 
has  been  tried,  but  without  demonstrating  conclusively  the 
superiority  of  any  one.  Whatever  method  may  come  into 
widest  vogue,  there  must  be  a  recognition  of  the  principle 
of  democratic  interest  and  democratic  control.  No  one 
class  in  society  can  dictate  permanently  to  the  people  as  a 
whole.  Industry  is  the  concern  of  all,  and  all  must  have  a 
share  in  managing  it  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

197.  Legislation. — The  history  of  industrial  reform  is 
first  of  all  a  story  of  legislative  interference  with  arbitrary 
management.  When  Great  Britain  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century  overstepped  the  bounds  of  the  let-alone  policy  and 
began  to  legislate  for  the  protection  of  the  employee,  it  was 
but  a  resumption  of  a  paternal  policy  that  had  been  general 
in  Europe  before.  But  formerly  government  had  interfered 
in  behalf  of  the  employing  class,  now  it  was  for  the  people 
who  were  under  the  control  of  the  exploiting  capitalist. 
The  abuses  of  child  labor  were  the  first  to  receive  atten- 
tion, and  Parliament  reduced  the  hours  of  child  appren- 
tices to  twelve  a  day.  Once  begun,  restriction  was  ex- 
tended. Beginning  in  1833,  under  the  leadership  of  Lord 
Shaf tesbury,  the  working  man's  friend,  the  labor  of  children 
under  thirteen  was  reduced  to  forty-eight  hours  a  week,  and 
children  under  nine  were  forbidden  to  work  at  all.  The 
work  of  young  people  under  eighteen  was  limited  to  sixty- 
nine  hours  a  week,  and  then  to  ten  hours  a  day;  women 
were  included  in  the  last  provision.  These  early  laws  were 
applicable  to  factories  for  weaving  goods  only,  but  they 
were  extended  later  to  all  kinds  of  manufacturing  and  min- 
ing. These  laws  were  not  always  strictly  enforced,  but  to 
get  them  through  Parliament  at  all  was  an  achievement. 
Later  legislation  extended  the  ten-hour  law  to  men;  then 


The  Industrial  Problem  191 

the  time  was  reduced  to  nine  hours,  and  in  many  trades 
to  eight. 

In  the  United  States  the  need  of  legislation  was  far  less 
urgent.  Employers  could  not  be  so  masterful  in  the  treat- 
ment of  their  employees  or  so  parsimonious  in  their  distri- 
bution of  wages,  because  the  laborer  always  had  the  option 
of  leaving  the  factory  for  the  farm,  and  land  was  cheap. 
Women  and  children  were  not  exploited  in  the  mines  as  in 
England,  pauper  labor  was  not  so  available,  and  such 
trades  as  chimney-sweeping  were  unknown.  Then,  too,  by 
the  time  there  was  much  need  for  legislation,  the  spirit  of 
justice  was  becoming  wide-spread  and  legislatures  responded 
more  quickly  to  the  appeal  for  protective  legislation.  It 
was  soon  seen  that  the  industrial  problem  was  not  simply 
how  much  an  employee  should  receive  for  a  given  piece 
of  work  or  time,  but  how  factory  labor  affected  working 
people  of  different  sex  or  age,  and  how  these  effects  reacted 
upon  society.  Those  who  pressed  legislation  believed  that 
the  earnings  of  a  child  were  not  worth  while  when  the  child 
lost  all  opportunity  for  education  and  healthful  physical 
exercise,  and  that  woman's  labor  was  not  profitable  if  it 
deprived  her  of  physical  health  and  nervous  energy,  and 
weakened  by  so  much  the  stamina  of  the  next  generation. 
The  thought  of  social  welfare  seconded  the  thought  of 
individual  welfare  and  buttressed  the  claims  of  a  particular 
class  to  economic  consideration  in  such  questions  as  proper 
wages.  Massachusetts  was  the  first  American  State  to 
introduce  labor  legislation  in  1836;  in  1869  the  same  State 
organized  the  first  labor  bureau,  to  be  followed  by  a  Na- 
tional bureau  in  1884,  four  years  later  converted  into  a 
government  department.  Among  the  favorite  topics  of 
legislation  have  been  the  limitation  of  woman  and  child 
labor,  the  regulation  of  wage  payments,  damages  and 
similar  concerns,  protection  from  dangerous  machinery  and 
adequate  factory  inspection,  and  the  appointment  of  boards 
of  arbitration.  The  doctrine  of  the  liability  of  employers 
in  case  of  accident  to  persons  in  their  employ  has  been 
increasingly  accepted  since  Great  Britain  adopted  an 
employers'  liability  act  in  1880,  and  since  1897  compulsory 


192       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

insurance  of  employees  has  spread  from  the  continent  of 
Europe  to  England  and  the  United  States. 

198.  The  Organization  of  Labor. — These  measures  of 
protection  and  relief  have  been  due  in  part  to  the  disinter- 
ested activity  of  philanthropists,  and  in  part  to  the  efforts 
of  organized  labor,  backed  up  by  public  opinion;  occasion- 
ally capitalists  have  voluntarily  improved  conditions  or 
increased  wages.  The  greatest  agitation  and  pressure  has 
come  from  the  labor-unions.  Unlike  the  mediaeval  guilds, 
these  unions  exist  for  the  purpose  of  opposing  the  employer, 
and  are  formed  in  recognition  of  the  principle  that  a  group 
can  obtain  guarantees  that  an  individual  is  helpless  to 
secure.  Like-mindedness  holds  the  group  together,  and 
consciousness  of  common  interests  and  mutual  duties  leads 
to  sacrifice  of  individual  benefit  for  the  sake  of  the  group. 
The  moral  effect  of  this  sense  and  practice  of  mutual  respon- 
sibility has  been  a  distinct  social  gain,  and  warrants  the 
hope  that  a  time  may  come  when  this  consciousness  of 
mutual  interests  may  extend  until  it  includes  the  employ- 
ing class  as  in  the  old-tune  guild. 

The  modern  labor-union  is  a  product  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Until  1850  there  was  much  experimenting,  and 
a  revolutionary  sentiment  was  prevalent  both  in  America 
and  abroad.  The  first  union  movement  united  all  classes 
of  wage-earners  in  a  nation-wide  reform,  and  aimed  at 
social  gains,  such  as  education  as  well  as  economic  gains. 
It  hoped  much  from  political  activity,  spoke  often  of  social 
ideals,  and  did  not  disdain  to  co-operate  with  any  good 
agency,  even  a  friendly  employer.  Class  feeling  was  less 
keen  than  later.  But  it  became  apparent  that  the  lines  of 
organization  were  too  loose,  that  specific  economic  reforms 
must  be  secured  rather  than  a  whole  social  programme, 
and  that  little  could  probably  be  expected  from  political 
activity.  Labor  began  to  organize  on  a  basis  of  trades, 
class  feeling  grew  stronger,  and  trials  of  strength  with  em- 
ployers showed  the  value  of  collective  bargaining  and 
fixed  agreements.  Out  of  the  period  grew  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor.  More  recently  has  come  the  indus- 
trial union,  which  includes  all  ranks  of  labor,  like  the  early 


The  Industrial  Problem  193 

labor-union,  and  is  especially  beneficial  to  the  unskilled. 
It  is  much  more  radical  in  its  methods  of  operation, 
and  is  represented  by  such  notorious  organizations  as  the 
United  Mine  Workers  and  the  International  Workers  of 
the  World. 

199.  Strikes. — The  principle  of  organization  of  the  trade- 
union  is  democratic.  The  unit  of  organization  is  the  local 
group  of  workers  which  is  represented  on  the  national 
governing  bodies;  in  matters  of  important  legislation,  a 
referendum  is  allowed.  Necessarily,  executive  power  is 
strongly  centralized,  for  the  labor-union  is  a  militant  organ- 
ization, but  much  is  left  to  the  local  union.  Though  peace- 
ful methods  are  employed  when  possible,  warlike  opera- 
tions are  frequent.  The  favorite  weapon  is  the  strike,  or 
refusal  to  work,  and  this  is  often  so  disastrous  to  the  em- 
ployer that  it  results  in  the  speedy  granting  of  the  laborers' 
demands.  It  requires  good  judgment  on  the  part  of  the 
representatives  of  labor  when  to  strike  and  how  to  conduct 
the  campaign  to  a  successful  conclusion,  but  statistics  com- 
piled by  the  National  Labor  Bureau  between  1881  and 
1905  indicate  that  a  majority  of  strikes  ordered  by  author- 
ity of  the  organization  were  at  least  partially  successful. 

The  successful  issue  of  strikes  has  demonstrated  their 
value  as  weapons  of  warfare,  and  they  have  been  accepted 
by  society  as  allowable,  but  they  tend  to  violence,  and  pro- 
duce feelings  of  hatred  and  distrust,  and  would  not  be 
countenanced  except  as  measures  of  coercion  to  secure 
needed  reforms.  The  financial  loss  due  to  the  cessation  of 
labor  foots  up  to  a  large  total,  but  in  comparison  with  the 
total  amount  of  wages  and  profits  it  is  small,  and  often  the 
periods  of  manufacturing  activity  are  so  redistributed 
through  the  year  that  there  is  really  no  net  loss.  Yet  a 
strike  cannot  be  looked  upon  in  any  other  way  than  as  a 
misfortune.  Like  war,  it  breaks  up  peaceful  if  not  friendly 
relations,  and  tends  to  destroy  the  solidarity  of  society.  It 
tends  to  strengthen  class  feeling,  which,  like  caste,  is  a 
handicap  to  the  progress  of  mankind.  Though  it  may 
benefit  the  working  man,  it  is  harmful  to  the  general  public, 
which  suffers  from  the  interruption  of  industry  and  some- 


194       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

times  of  transportation,  and  whose  business  is  disturbed 
by  the  blow  to  confidence. 

200.  Peaceful  Methods  of  Settlement. — Strikes  are  so 
unsettling  to  industry  that  all  parties  find  it  better  to  use 
diplomacy  when  possible,  or  to  submit  a  dispute  to  arbitra- 
tion rather  than  to  resort  to  violence.     It  is  in  industrial 
concerns  very  much  as  it  is  in  international  politics,  and 
methods  used  in  one  circle  suggest  methods  in  the  other. 
Formerly  war  was  a  universal  practice,  and  of  frequent 
occurrence,  and  duelling  was  common  in  the  settlement  of 
private  quarrels;  now  the  duel  is  virtually  obsolete,  and 
war  is  invoked  only   as  a   last  resort.     Difficulties   are 
smoothed  out  through  the  diplomatic  representatives  that 
every  nation  keeps  at  the  national  capitals,  and  when  they 
cannot  settle  an  issue  the  matter  is  referred  to  an  umpire 
satisfactory  to  both  sides.     Similarly  in  industrial  disputes 
the  tendency  is  away  from  the  strike;  when  an  issue  arises 
representatives  of  both  sides  get  together  and  try  to  find 
a  way  out.    There  is  no  good  reason  why  an  employer 
should  refuse  to  recognize  an  organization  or  receive  its 
representatives  to  conference,  especially  if  the  employer  is 
a  corporation  which  must  work  through  representatives. 
Collective  bargaining  is  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
times  and  fair  for  all.     Conference  demands  frankness  on 
the  part  of  all  concerned.     It  leads  more  quickly  to  under- 
standing and  harmony  if  each  party  knows  the  situation 
that  confronts  the  other.     If  the  parties  immediately  con- 
cerned cannot  reach  an  agreement,  a  third  party  may 
mediate  and  try  to  conciliate  opposition.     If  that  fails,  the 
next  natural  step  is  voluntarily  to  refer  the  matter  in  dis- 
pute to  arbitration,  or  by  legal  regulation  to  compel  the 
disputants  to  submit  to  arbitration. 

201.  Boards  of  Conciliation. — The  history  of  peaceful 
attempts  to  settle  industrial  disputes  in  the  United  States 
helps  to  explain  the  methods  now  frequently  employed. 
In  1888,  following  a  series  of  disastrous  labor  conflicts, 
Congress  provided  by  legislation  for  the  appointment  of 
a  board  of  three  commissioners,  which  should  make  thor- 
ough investigation  of  particular  disputes  and  publish  its 


The  Industrial  Problem  195 

findings.  The  class  of  disputes  was  limited  to  interstate 
commerce  concerns  and  the  commissioners  did  not  consti- 
tute a  permanent  board,  but  the  legislative  act  marked  the 
beginning  of  an  attempt  at  conciliation.  Ten  years  later 
the  Erdman  Act  established  a  permanent  board  of  concilia- 
tion to  deal  with  similar  cases  when  asked  to  do  so  by  one 
of  the  parties,  and  in  case  of  failure  to  propose  arbitration; 
it  provided,  also,  for  a  board  of  arbitration.  Meantime  the 
States  passed  various  acts  for  the  pacification  of  industrial 
disputes;  the  most  popular  have  been  the  appointment  of 
permanent  boards  of  conciliation  and  arbitration,  which 
have  power  to  mediate,  investigate,  and  recommend  a  set- 
tlement. These  have  been  supplemented  by  State  and 
national  commissions,  with  a  variety  of  functions  and 
powers,  including  investigation  and  regulation.  The  ex- 
perience of  government  boards  has  not  been  long  enough 
to  prove  whether  they  are  likely  to  be  of  permanent  value, 
but  the  results  are  encouraging  to  those  who  believe  that 
through  conciliation  and  arbitration  the  industrial  problem 
can  best  be  solved. 

202.  Public  Welfare. — There  can  be  no  reasonable  com- 
plaint of  the  interference  of  the  government.  The  gov- 
ernment, whether  of  State  or  nation,  represents  the  people, 
and  the  people  have  a  large  stake  in  every  industrial  dis- 
pute. Society  is  so  interdependent  that  thousands  are 
affected  seriously  by  every  derangement  of  industry.  This 
is  especially  true  of  the  stoppage  of  railways,  mines,  or 
large  manufacturing  establishments,  when  food  and  fuel 
cannot  be  obtained,  and  the  delicate  mechanism  of  business 
is  upset.  At  best  the  public  is  seriously  inconvenienced. 
It  is  therefore  proper  that  the  public  should  organize  on 
its  part  to  minimize  the  derangement  of  its  interests.  In 
1901  a  National  Civic  Federation  was  formed  by  those  who 
were  interested  in  industrial  peace,  and  who  were  large- 
minded  enough  to  see  that  it  could  not  be  obtained  per- 
manently unless  recognition  should  be  given  to  all  three  of 
the  interested  parties — the  employers,  the  employees,  and 
the  public.  Many  small  employers  of  labor  are  bitterly 
opposed  to  any  others  than  themselves  having  anything 


196       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

to  say  about  the  methods  of  conducting  industry,  but  the 
men  of  large  experience  are  satisfied  that  the  day  of  inde- 
pendence has  passed.  This  organization  includes  on  its 
committees  representatives  of  all  parties,  and  has  helped 
in  the  settlement  of  a  number  of  controversies. 

203.  Voluntary  Efforts  of  Employers. — It  is  a  hopeful 
sign  that  employers  themselves  are  voluntarily  seeking  the 
betterment'of  their  employees.     It  is  a  growing  custom  for 
corporations  to  provide  for  the  comfort,  health,  and  recrea- 
tion of  men  and  women  in  their  employ.     Rest-rooms, 
reading-rooms,  baths,  and  gymnasiums  are  provided;  ath- 
letic clubs  are  organized;  lunches  are  furnished  at  cost;  con- 
tinuation schools  are  arranged.     Some  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments employ  a  welfare  manager  or  secretary  whose 
business  it  shall  be  to  devise  ways  of  improving  working 
conditions.     When  these  helps  and  helpers  are  supplied  as 
philanthropy,  they  are  not  likely  to  be  appreciated,  for 
working  people  do  not  want  to  be  patronized;  if  maintained 
on  a  co-operative  basis,  they  are  more  acceptable.     But  the 
employer  is  beginning  to  see  that  it  is  good  business  to 
keep  the  workers  contented  and  healthy.     It  adds  to  their 
efficiency,  and  in  these  days  when  scientific  management  is 
putting  so  much  emphasis  on  efficiency,  any  measures  that 
add  to  industrial  welfare  are  not  to  be  overlooked. 

204,  Profit-sharing. — Another    method    of    conferring 
benefit  upon  the  employee  is  profit-sharing.     By  means  of 
cash  payment  or  stock  bonuses,  he  is  induced  to  work  bet- 
ter and  to  be  more  careful  of  tools  and  machinery,  while 
his  expectation  of  a  share  in  the  success  of  the  business 
stimulates  his  interest  and  his  energy  and  keeps  him  better 
natured.    The  objections  to  the  plan  are  that  it  is  pater- 
nalistic, for  the  business  is  under  the  control  of  the  em- 
ployer and  the  amount  of  profits  depends  on  his  honesty, 
good  management,  and  philanthropic  disposition.     There 
are  instances  where  it  has  worked  admirably,  and  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  employer  it  is  often  worth  while, 
because  it  tends  to  weaken  unionism;  but  it  cannot  be 
regarded  as  a  cure  for  industrial  ills,  because  it  is  a  remedy 
of  uncertain  value,  and  at  best  is  not  based  on  the  principle 
of  industrial  democracy. 


The  Industrial  Problem  197 

205.  Principles  for  the  Solution  of  the  Industrial  Prob- 
lem.— Three  principles  contend  for  supremacy  in  all  dis- 
cussions and  efforts  to  solve  the  industrial  problem.  The 
first  is  the  doctrine  of  employer's  control.  This  is  the  old 
principle  that  governed  industrial  relations  until  govern- 
mental legislation  and  trade-union  activity  compelled  a 
recognition  of  the  worker's  rights.  By  that  principle  the 
capitalist  and  the  laborer  are  free  to  work  together  or  to 
fight  each  other,  to  make  what  arrangements  they  can 
about  wages,  hours,  and  health  conditions,  to  share  in 
profits  if  the  employer  is  kindly  disposed,  but  always  with 
labor  in  a  position  of  subordination  and  without  recognized 
rights,  as  in  the  old  political  despotisms,  which  were  some- 
times benevolent  but  more  often  ruthless.  Only  the  selfish, 
stubborn  capitalist  expects  to  see  such  a  system  perma- 
nently restored. 

The  second  principle  is  the  doctrine  of  collective  control. 
This  theory  is  a  natural  reaction  from  the  other,  but  goes 
to  an  opposite  extreme.  It  is  the  theory  of  the  syndicalist, 
who  prefers  to  smash  machinery  before  he  takes  control, 
and  of  the  socialist,  who  contents  himself  with  declaring 
the  right  of  the  worker  to  all  productive  property,  and  agi- 
tates peacefully  for  the  abolition  of  the  wage  system  in 
favor  of  a  working  man's  commonwealth.  The  socialist 
blames  the  wage  system  for  all  the  evils  of  the  present 
industrial  order,  regards  the  trade-unions  as  useful  indus- 
trial agencies  of  reform,  but  urges  a  resort  to  the  ballot 
as  a  necessary  means  of  getting  control  of  industry.  There 
would  come  first  the  socialization  of  natural  resources  and 
transportation  systems,  then  of  public  utilities  and  large 
industries,  and  by  degrees  the  socialization  of  all  industry 
would  become  complete.  Then  on  a  democratic  basis  the 
workers  would  choose  their  industrial  officers,  arrange  their 
hours,  wages,  and  conditions  of  labor,  and  provide  for  the 
needs  of  every  individual  without  exploitation,  overexer- 
tion,  or  lack  of  opportunity  to  work.  Serious  objections 
are  made  to  this  programme  for  productive  enterprise  on 
the  ground  of  the  difficulty  of  effecting  the  transfer  of  the 
means  of  production  and  exchange,  and  of  executive  man- 
agement without  the  incentive  of  abundant  pecuniary 


198       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

returns  for  efficient  superintendency;  even  more  because  of 
the  natural  selfishness  of  human  beings  who  seek  personal 
preferment,  and  the  natural  inertia  of  those  who  know  that 
they  will  be  taken  care  of  whether  they  exert  themselves 
or  not.  More  serious  still  are  the  difficulties  that  lie  in  the 
way  of  a  satisfactory  distribution  of  the  rewards  of  labor, 
for  there  is  sure  to  be  serious  difference  of  opinion  over 
the  proper  share  of  each  person  who  contributes  to  the 
work  of  production,  and  no  method  of  initiative,  referen- 
dum, and  recall  would  avail  to  smooth  out  the  difficulties 
that  would  be  sure  to  arise. 

206.  Co-operation. — The  third  principle  is  co-opera- 
tion. The  principle  of  co-operation  is  as  important  to 
society  as  the  principle  of  division  of  labor.  By  means  of 
co-operative  activity  in  the  home  the  family  is  able  to 
maintain  itself  as  a  useful  group.  By  means  of  co-opera- 
tion in  thinly  settled  communities  local  prosperity  is  possi- 
ble without  any  individual  possessing  large  resources.  But 
in  industry  where  competition  rules  and  the  aim  of  the 
employer  is  the  exploitation  of  the  worker,  general  comfort 
is  sacrificed  for  the  enrichment  of  the  few  and  wealth  flaunts 
itself  in  the  midst  of  misery.  There  will  always  be  a  prob- 
lem in  the  industrial  relations  of  human  beings  until  there 
is  a  recognition  of  this  fundamental  principle  of  co-opera- 
tion. The  application  of  the  principle  to  the  complicated 
system  of  modern  industrialism  is  not  easy,  and  attempts 
at  co-operative  production  by  working  men  with  small  and 
incapable  management  have  not  been  successful,  but  it  is 
becoming  clear  that  as  a  principle  of  industrial  relation 
between  classes  it  is  to  obtain  increasing  recognition.  If  it 
is  proper  to  admit  the  claims  of  the  employer,  the  employee, 
and  the  public  to  an  interest  in  every  labor  issue,  then  it  is 
proper  to  look  for  the  co-operation  of  them  all  in  the  regu- 
lation of  industry.  The  usual  experiments  in  co-operative 
industry  have  been  the  voluntary  organization  of  produc- 
tion, exchange,  or  distribution  by  a  group  of  middle  or 
working  class  people  to  save  the  large  expense  of  superin- 
tendents or  middlemen.  Co-operation  in  production  has 
usually  failed;  in  America  co-operative  banks  and  building 


The  Industrial  Problem  199 

associations,  creameries,  and  fruit-growing  associations 
have  had  considerable  success,  and  in  Europe  co-operative 
stores  and  bakeries  have  had  a  large  vogue  in  England  and 
Belgium,  and  co-operative  agriculture  in  Denmark.  But 
industry  on  a  large  scale  requires  large  capital,  efficient 
management,  capable,  interested  workmanship,  and  elimi- 
nation of  waste  in  material  and  human  life.  To  this  end  it 
needs  the  good-will  of  all  parties  and  the  assistance  of 
government.  Unemployment,  for  instance,  may  be  taken 
care  of  by  giving  every  worker  a  good  industrial  education 
and  doing  away  with  inefficiency,  and  then  establishing  a 
wide-spread  system  of  labor  exchanges  to  adjust  the  mass 
of  labor  to  specific  requirements.  Industry  is  such  a  big 
and  important  matter  that  nothing  less  than  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  whole  of  society  can  solve  its  problems. 

This  co-operation,  to  be  effective,  requires  a  genuine 
partnership,  in  which  the  body  of  stockholders  and  the 
body  of  working  men  plan  together,  work  together,  and 
share  together,  with  the  assistance  of  government  commis- 
sions and  boards  that  continually  adjust  and,  if  necessary, 
regulate  the  processes  of  production  and  distribution  on  a 
basis  of  equity,  to  be  determined  by  a  consensus  of  expert 
opinion.  In  such  a  system  there  is  no  radical  derangement 
of  existing  industry,  no  destruction  of  initiative,  no  expul- 
sion of  expert  management  or  confiscation  of  property. 
Individual  and  corporate  ownership  continue,  the  wage 
system  is  not  abolished,  efficient  administration  is  still  to  be 
obtained,  but  the  body  of  control  is  not  a  board  of  directors 
responsible  only  to  the  stockholders  of  the  corporation,  and 
managing  affairs  primarily  for  their  own  gain,  but  it  con- 
sists of  representatives  of  those  who  contribute  money, 
superintendence,  and  labor,  together  with  or  regulated  by 
a  group  of  government  experts,  all  of  whom  are  honestly 
seeking  the  good  of  all  parties  and  enjoying  their  full  con- 
fidence. Toward  such  an  outcome  of  present  strife  many 
interested  social  reformers  are  working,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  its  advantages  will  soon  appear  so  great  that 
neither  extreme  alternative  principle  will  have  to  be  tried 
out  thoroughly  before  there  will  be  a  general  acceptance 


200       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  the  co-operative  idea.  It  may  seem  Utopian  to  those 
who  are  familiar  with  the  selfishness  and  antagonism  that 
have  marked  the  history  of  the  last  hundred  years,  but  it 
is  already  being  tried  out  here  and  there,  and  it  is  the  only 
principle  that  accords  with  the  experiences  and  results  of 
social  evolution  in  other  groups.  It  is  the  highest  law  that 
the  struggle  for  individual  power  fails  before  the  struggle 
for  the  good  of  the  group,  and  a  contest  for  the  success  of 
the  few  must  give  way  to  co-operation  for  the  good  of  all. 

READING  REFERENCES 

ELL  WOOD:  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects,  pages  188-194. 
ADAMS  AND  SUMNER:   Labor  Problems,  pages   175-286,  379-432, 

461-500. 

Bulletins  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor. 
CARLTON:  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  pages  228-261. 
GLADDEN:  The  Labor  Question,  pages  77-113. 
HENDERSON:  Social  Elements,  pages  167-206. 
CROSS:  Essentials  of  Socialism,  pages  n,  12,  106-111. 
WYCKOFF:  The  Workers. 


CHAPTER  XXVHI 
EXCHANGE  AND   TRANSPORTATION 

207.  Mercantile  Exchange. — Important  as  is  the  man- 
ufacturing industry  in  the  life  of  the  city,  it  is  only  a  part 
of  the  economic  activity  that  is  continually  going  on  in  its 
streets  and  buildings.  The  mercantile  houses  that  cany 
on  wholesale  and  retail  trade,  the  towering  office-buildings, 
and  the  railway  and  steamship  terminals  contain  numerous 
groups  of  workers  all  engaged  in  the  social  task  of  supply- 
ing human  wants,  while  streets  and  railways  are  avenues 
of  traffic.  The  manufacture  of  goods  is  but  a  part  of  the 
process;  distribution  is  as  important  as  production.  All 
these  sources  of  supply  are  connected  with  banks'and  trust 
companies  that  furnish  money  and  credit  for  business  of 
every  kind.  The  economic  activities  of  a  city  form  an  in- 
tricate network  in  which  the  people  are  involved. 

Hardly  second  in  importance  to  manufacturing  is  mer- 
cantile exchange.  The  manufacturer,  after  he  has  paid  his 
workers,  owns  the  goods  that  have  been  produced,  but  to 
get  his  living  he  must  sell  them.  To  do  this  he  establishes 
relations  with  the  merchant.  Their  relations  are  carried 
on  through  agents,  some  of  whom  travel  from  place  to  place 
taking  orders,  others  establish  office  headquarters  in  the 
larger  centres  of  trade.  Once  the  merchant  has  opened  his 
store  or  shop  and  purchased  his  goods  he  seeks  to  establish 
trade  relations  with  as  many  individual  customers  as  he 
can  attract.  Mercantile  business  is  carried  on  in  two  kinds 
of  stores,  those  which  supply  one  kind  of  goods  in  whole- 
sale or  retail  quantities,  like  groceries  or  dry  goods,  and 
those  which  maintain  numerous  departments  for  different 
kinds  of  manufactured  goods.  Large  department  stores 
have  become  a  special  feature  of  mercantile  exchange  in 
cities  of  considerable  size,  but  they  do  not  destroy  the 
smaller  merchants,  though  competition  is  often  difficult. 

201 


202       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

208.  The  Ethics  of  Business. — The  methods  of  carrying 
on  mercantile  business  are  based,  as  in  the  factory,  on  the 
principle  of  getting  the  largest  possible  profits.  The  wel- 
fare of  employees  is  a  secondary  consideration.  Expense 
of  maintenance  is  heavy.  Rents  are  costly  in  desirable 
locations;  the  expense  of  carrying  a  large  stock  of  mer- 
chandise makes  it  necessary  to  borrow  capital  on  which 
interest  must  be  paid;  the  obligations  of  a  large  pay-roll 
must  be  met  at  frequent  intervals,  whether  business  is 
good  or  bad.  All  these  items  are  present  in  varying  degree, 
whatever  the  size  of  the  business,  except  where  a  merchant 
has  capital  enough  of  his  own  to  carry  on  a  small  business 
and  can  attend  to  the  wants  of  his  customers  alone  or  with 
the  help  of  his  family.  The  temptation  of  the  merchant  is 
strong  to  use  every  possible  means  to  make  a  success  of 
his  business,  paying  wages  as  low  as  possible,  in  order  to 
cut  down  expenses,  and  offering  all  kinds  of  inducements 
to  customers  in  order  to  sell  his  goods.  The  ethics  of 
trade  need  improvement.  It  is  by  no  means  true,  as  some 
agitators  declare,  that  the  whole  business  system  is  cor- 
rupt, that  honesty  is  rare,  and  that  the  merchant  is  without 
a  conscience.  General  corruption  is  impossible  in  a  com- 
mercial age  like  this,  when  the  whole  system  of  business 
is  built  on  credit,  and  large  transactions  are  carried  on,  as 
on  the  Stock  Exchange,  with  full  confidence  in  the  word  or 
even  the  nod  of  an  operator.  Of  course,  shoddy  and  impure 
goods  are  sold  over  the  counter  and  the  customer  often 
pays  more  than  an  article  is  really  worth,  but  every  mer- 
cantile house  has  its  popular  reputation  to  sustain  as  well 
as  its  rated  financial  standing,  and  the  business  concern 
that  does  not  deal  honorably  soon  loses  profitable  trade. 

Exchange  constitutes  an  important  division  of  the  science 
of  economics,  but  its  social  causes  and  effects  are  of  even 
greater  consequence.  Exchange  is  dependent  upon  the 
diffusion  of  information,  the  expansion  of  interests,  and 
growing  confidence  between  those  who  effect  a  transaction. 
When  mutual  wants  are  few  it  is  possible  to  carry  on  busi- 
ness by  means  of  barter;  when  trade  increases  money  be- 
comes a  necessary  medium;  world  commerce  requires  a 


Exchange  and  Transportation  203 

system  of  credit  which  rests  on  social  trust  and  integrity. 
Conversely,  there  are  social  consequences  that  come  from 
customs  of  exchange.  It  enlarges  human  interests.  It  stim- 
ulates socialization  of  habits  and  broader  ideas.  It  encour- 
ages industry  and  thrift  and  promotes  division  of  labor. 
It  strengthens  social  organization  and  tends  to  make  it 
more  efficient.  Altogether,  exchange  of  goods  must  be 
regarded  as  among  the  most  important  functions  of  soci- 
ety. 

209.  Business  Employees. — The  business  ethics  that  are 
most  open  to  criticism  are  those  that  govern  the  relations 
of  the  merchant  and  his  employees.  Here  the  system  of 
employment  is  much  the  same  as  in  the  factory.  The  mer- 
chant deals  with  his  employees  through  superintendents  of 
departments.  The  employment  manager  hires  the  persons 
who  seem  best  qualified  for  the  position,  and  they  are 
assigned  to  a  department.  They  are  under  the  orders  of 
the  head  of  the  department,  and  their  success  or  failure 
depends  largely  on  his  good-will.  Wages  and  privileges  are 
in  his  hand,  and  if  he  is  morally  unscrupulous  he  can  ruin  a 
weak-willed  subordinate.  There  is  little  coherence  among 
employees;  there  are  always  men  and  women  who  stand 
ready  to  take  a  vacant  position,  and  often  no  particular  skill 
or  experience  is  required.  There  has  been  no  such  solidify- 
ing of  interests  by  trade-unions  as  in  the  factory;  the  in- 
dividual makes  his  own  contract  and  stands  on  his  own 
feet.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  an  increasing  number  of 
employers  who  feel  their  responsibility  to  those  who  are  in 
their  employ,  and,  except  in  the  department  stores,  they 
are  usually  associated  personally  with  their  employees. 
Welfare  work  is  not  uncommon  in  the  large  establishments, 
and  a  minimum  wage  is  being  adopted  here  and  there. 

One  of  the  worst  abuses  of  the  department  store  is  the 
low-paid  labor  of  women  and  girls.  It  is  possible  for  girls 
who  live  at  home  to  get  along  on  a  few  dollars  a  week,  but 
they  establish  a  scale  of  wages  so  low  that  it  is  impossible 
for  the  young  woman  who  is  dependent  on  her  own  re- 
sources to  get  enough  to  eat  and  wear  and  keep  well.  The 
physical  and  moral  wrecks  that  result  are  disheartening. 


204       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

Nourishing  food  in  sufficient  quantities  to  repair  the  waste 
of  nerve  and  tissue  cannot  be  obtained  on  five  or  six  dollars 
a  week,  when  room  rent  and  clothing  and  necessary  inci- 
dentals, like  car-fare,  have  to  be  included.  There  are 
always  human  beasts  of  prey  who  are  prepared  to  give 
financial  assistance  in  exchange  for  sex  gratification,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  resist  temptation  when  one's  nervous  vigor 
and  strength  of  will  are  at  the  breaking-point.  It  is  not 
strange  that  there  is  an  economic  element  among  the  causes 
of  the  social  evil;  it  is  remarkable  that  moral  sturdiness 
resists  so  much  temptation. 

210.  Offices. — The  numerous  office-buildings  that  have 
arisen  so  rapidly  in  recent  years  in  the  cities  also  have  large 
corps  of  women  workers.     They  have  personal  relations 
with  employers  much  more  frequently,  for  there  are  thou- 
sands of  offices  where  a  few  stenographers  or  even  a  single 
secretary  are  sufficient.     Office  work  is  skilled  labor,  is 
better  paid,  and  attracts  women  of  better  attainments  and 
higher  ideals  than  in  department  store  or  factory.    Office 
relations  are  pleasant  as  well  as  profitable.     The  demands 
are  exacting;  labor  at  the  typewriter,  the  proof-sheets,  or 
the  bookkeeper's  desk  is  tiresome,  but  the  society  of  the 
office  is  congenial,  working  conditions  are  healthful  and 
cheerful  in  most  cases,  and  there  are  many  opportunities 
for  increasing  efficiency  and  promotion.     The  office  has  its 
hardships.     Everything  is  on  a  business  basis,  and  there  is 
little  allowance  for  feelings  or  disposition.     There  are  days 
when  trials  multiply  and  an  atmosphere  of  irritation  pre- 
vails; there  are  seasons  when  the  constant  rush  creates  a 
wearing  nervous  tension,  and  other  seasons,  when  business 
is  so  poor  that  occasionally  there  are  breakdowns  of  health 
or  moral  rectitude;  but  on  the  whole  the  office  presents  a 
simpler  industrial  problem  than  the  factory  or  the  store. 

211.  Transportation. — A    third   industry   that  has  its 
centre  in  the  city  but  extends  across  continents  and  seas  is 
the  business  of  transportation.     Manufactured  goods  are 
conveyed  from  the  factory  to  the  warehouse  and  the  store, 
goods  sold  in  the  mercantile  establishment  are  delivered 
from  door  to  door,  but  enormous  quantities  of  the  products 


Exchange  and  Transportation  205 

of  economic  activity  are  hauled  to  greater  distances  by 
truck,  car,  and  steamship.  The  city  is  a  point  to  which 
roads,  railways,  and  steamship  lines  converge,  and  from 
which  they  radiate  in  every  direction.  By  long  and  short 
hauls,  by  express  and  freight,  vast  quantities  of  food  prod- 
ucts and  manufactured  goods  pour  into  the  metropolis, 
part  to  be  used  in  its  numerous  dwellings,  part  to  be 
shipped  again  to  distant  points.  Along  the  same  routes 
passengers  are  transported,  journeying  in  all  directions  on 
a  multitude  of  errands,  jostling  for  a  moment  as  they  hurry 
to  and  from  the  means  of  conveyance,  and  then  swinging 
away,  each  on  its  individual  orbit,  like  comet  or  giant  sun 
that  nods  acquaintance  but  once  in  a  thousand  years. 

The  business  of  transportation  occupies  the  time  and 
attention  of  thousands  of  workers,  and  its  ramifications  are 
endless.  It  is  not  limited  to  a  particular  region  like  agri- 
culture, or  to  towns  and  cities  like  manufacturing;  it  is  not 
stopped  by  tariff  walls  or  ocean  boundaries.  An  acre  of 
wheat  is  cut  by  the  reaper,  threshed,  and  carted  to  the 
elevator  by  wagon  or  motor  truck.  The  railroad-car  is 
hauled  alongside,  and  with  other  bushels  of  its  kind  the 
grain  is  transported  to  a  giant  flour-mill,  where  it  is  turned 
into  a  whitened,  pulverized  product,  packed  in  barrels,  and 
shipped  across  the  ocean  to  a  foreign  port.  Conveyed  by 
rail  or  truck  to  the  bakery,  the  flour  undergoes  transforma- 
tion into  bread,  and  takes  its  final  journey  to  hotel,  restau- 
rant, and  dwelling-house.  Similarly,  every  kind  of  raw 
material  finds  its  destination  far  from  the  place  of  its 
production  and  is  consumed  directly  or  as  a  manufactured 
product.  This  gigantic  business  of  transportation  is  the 
means  of  providing  for  the  sustenance  and  comfort  of  mil- 
lions of  human  beings,  and  in  spite  of  the  extensive  use  of 
machinery  it  requires  at  every  step  the  co-operative  labor 
of  human  beings. 

212.  Growth  of  Interdependence. — It  is  the  far-flung 
lines  of  commerce  that  bind  together  the  peoples  of  the 
world.  Formerly  there  were  periods  of  history,  as  in  the 
European  Middle  Ages,  when  a  social  group  produced 
nearly  everything  that  it  needed  for  consumption  and  com- 


206       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

merce  was  small;  but  now  all  countries  exchange  their  own 
products  for  others  that  they  cannot  so  readily  produce. 
The  requirements  of  commerce  have  broken  down  the  bar- 
riers between  races,  and  have  compelled  mutual  acquain- 
tance and  knowledge  of  languages,  mutual  confidence  in  one 
another's  good  intentions,  and  mutual  understanding  of 
one  another's  wants.  The  demands  of  commerce  have 
precipitated  wars,  but  have  also  brought  victories  of  peace. 
They  have  stimulated  the  invention  of  improved  means  of 
communication,  as  the  demands  of  manufacturing  stimu- 
lated invention  of  machinery.  The  slow  progress  of  horse- 
drawn  vehicles  over  poor  roads  provoked  the  invention  of 
improved  highways  and  then  of  railroads.  The  application 
of  steam  to  locomotives  and  ships  revolutionized  commerce, 
and  by  the  steady  improvements  of  many  years  has  given 
to  the  eager  trader  and  traveller  the  speedy,  palatial  steam- 
ship and  the  train  de  luxe. 

Transportation  depends,  however,  on  the  man  behind  the 
engine  rather  than  on  the  mass  of  steel  that  is  conjured 
into  motion.  Successful  commerce  waits  for  the  willing- 
ness and  skill  of  worker  and  director.  There  must  be  the 
same  division  and  direction  of  labor  and  the  same  spirit  of 
co-operation;  there  must  be  intelligence  in  planning  sched- 
ules for  traffic  and  overcoming  obstacles  of  nature  and 
human  frailty  and  incompetence.  The  teamster,  the  long- 
shoreman, the  freight-handler,  and  the  engineer  must  all 
feel  the  push  of  the  economic  demand,  keeping  them 
steadily  at  work.  A  strike  on  any  portion  of  the  line  ties 
up  traffic  and  upsets  the  calculations  of  manufacturer, 
merchant,  and  consumer,  for  they  are  all  dependent  upon 
the  servants  of  transportation. 

213.  Problems  of  Transportation. — There  are  problems 
of  transportation  that  are  of  a  purely  economic  nature,  but 
there  are  also  problems  that  are  of  social  concern.  The 
first  problem  is  that  of  safe  and  rapid  transportation.  The 
comfort  and  safety  of  the  millions  who  travel  on  business 
or  for  pleasure  is  a  primary  concern  of  society.  If  the  roads 
are  not  kept  in  repair  and  the  steamship  lanes  patrolled,  if 
the  rolling-stock  is  allowed  to  deteriorate  and  become  liable 


Exchange  and  Transportation  207 

to  accident,  if  engine-drivers  and  helmsmen  are  intem- 
perate or  careless,  if  efficiency  is  not  maintained,  or  if 
safety  is  sacrificed  to  speed,  the  public  is  not  well  served. 
Many  are  the  illustrations  of  neglect  and  inefficiency  that 
have  culminated  in  accident  and  death.  Or  the  transporta- 
tion company  is  slow  to  adopt  new  inventions  and  to  meet 
the  expense  that  is  necessary  to  equip  a  steamer  or  a  rail- 
road for  speed,  or  to  provide  rapid  interurban  or  suburban 
transit.  Poor  management  or  single  tracks  delay  fast 
freights,  or  congested  terminals  tie  up  traffic.  These  in- 
conveniences not  only  consume  profits  and  ruffle  the  tem- 
pers of  working  men,  but  they  are  a  social  waste  of  time 
and  effort,  and  they  stand  in  the  way  of  improved  living 
conditions.  The  congestion  of  population  in  the  cities 
can  easily  be  remedied  when  rapid  and  cheap  transit  make 
it  possible  for  working  men  to  live  twenty  or  thirty  miles 
out  of  town.  The  standard  of  living  can  be  raised  appre- 
ciably when  fast  trolley  or  steam  service  provides  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  farms  in  abundance  and  in  fresh  condition. 

Another  problem  is  that  of  the  worker.  The  same  temp- 
tation faces  the  transportation  manager  that  appears  in 
the  factory  and  the  mercantile  house.  The  expenses  of 
traffic  are  enormous.  Railways  alone  cost  hundreds  of 
millions  for  equipment  and  service,  and  there  are  periods 
when  commerce  slackens  and  earnings  fall  away.  It  is 
easier  to  cut  wages  than  to  postpone  improvements  or  to 
raise  freight  or  passenger  rates.  In  the  United  States  an 
interstate  commerce  commission  regulates  rates,  but  ques- 
tions of  wages  and  hours  of  labor  are  between  the  manage- 
ment and  the  men.  Friction  frequently  develops,  and 
hostility  in  the  past  has  produced  labor  organizations  that 
are  well  knit  and  powerful,  so  that  the  railroad  man  has 
succeeded  in  securing  fair  treatment,  but  there  are  other 
branches  of  transportation  service  where  the  servants  of 
the  public  find  their  labor  poorly  paid  and  precarious  in 
tenure.  Teamsters  and  freight-handlers  find  conditions 
hard;  sailors  and  dock-hands  are  often  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment. Whole  armies  of  transportation  employees  have 
been  enrolled  since  trolley-lines  and  automobile  service  have 


208       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

been  organized.  Fewer  persons  drive  their  own  horses  and 
vehicles,  and  many  who  walked  to  and  from  business  or 
school  now  ride.  Transportation  service  has  been  vastly 
extended,  but  there  are  continually  more  people  to  be 
accommodated,  and  motor-men,  conductors,  and  chauffeurs 
to  be  adjusted  to  wage  scales  and  service  hours. 

214.  Monopoly. — A  persistent  tendency  in  transporta- 
tion has  been  toward  monopoly.     Express  service  between 
two  points  becomes  controlled  by  a  single  company,  and 
the  charges  are  increased.     A  street-railway  company  se- 
cures a  valuable  city  franchise,  lays  its  tracks  on  the  prin- 
cipal streets,  and  monopolizes  the  business.     Service  may 
be  poor  and  fares  may  be  raised,  unless  kept  down  by  a 
railroad  commission,  but  the  public  must  endure  incon- 
venience, discomfort,  and  oppression,  or  walk.     Railroad 
systems  absorb  short  lines  and  control  traffic  over  great 
districts;  unless  they  are  under  government  regulation  they 
may  adjust  their  time  schedules  and  freight  charges  arbi- 
trarily and  impose  as  large  a  burden  as  the  traffic  will  bear; 
the  public  is  helpless,  because  there  is  no  other  suitable 
conveyance  for  passengers  or  freight.     It  is  for  these  reasons 
that  the  United  States  has  taken  the  control  of  interstate 
commerce  into  its  own  hands  and  regulated  it,  while  the 
States  have  shown  a  disposition  to  inflict  penalties  upon 
recalcitrant  corporations  operating  within  State  boundaries. 
It  is  the  policy  of  government,  also,  to  prevent  control  of 
one  railroad  by  another,  to  the  added  inconvenience  and 
expense  of  the  public.     But  since  1890  there  has  been  a 
rapid  tendency  toward  a  consolidation  of  business  enter- 
prises, by  which  railroads  became  united  into  a  few  gigantic 
systems,  street  railways  were  consolidated  into  a  few  large 
companies,  and  ocean -steamship  companies  amalgamated 
into  an  international  combination. 

215.  Government  Ownership  vs.  Regulation. — Nor  did 
monopoly  confine  itself  to  transportation.     The  control  of 
public  utilities  has  passed  into  fewer  hands.     Coal  com- 
panies, gas  and  electric  light  corporations,  telegraph  and 
telephone  companies  tend  to  monopolize  business  over  large 
sections   of   country.     Some   of   these  possess   a  natural 


Exchange  and  Transportation  209 

monopoly  right,  and  if  managed  in  the  interests  of  the 
public  that  they  serve,  may  be  permitted  to  carry  on  their 
business  without  interference.  But  their  large  incomes  and 
disposition  to  oppress  their  constituents  has  produced  many 
demands  for  government  ownership,  especially  of  coal  com- 
panies and  railroads,  and  though  for  less  reason  of  tele- 
phone and  telegraph  lines.  Government  ownership  has 
been  tried  in  Europe  and  in  Australasia,  but  experience 
does  not  prove  that  it  is  universally  desirable.  There  are 
financial  objections  in  connection  with  purchase  and  opera- 
tion, and  the  question  of  efficiency  of  government  employ- 
ees is  open  to  debate.  Enough  experiments  have  been 
tried  in  the  United  States  to  render  very  doubtful  the  ad- 
visability of  government  ownership  of  any  of  these  large 
enterprises  where  politics  wield  so  large  a  power  and 
democracy  delights  to  shift  office  and  responsibility.  But 
it  is  desirable  that  the  government  of  State  and  nation 
have  power  to  regulate  business  associations  that  control 
the  public  welfare  as  widely  as  do  railroads,  telegraph-lines, 
and  navigation  companies.  By  legislation,  incorporation, 
and  taxation  the  government  may  keep  its  hand  upon 
monopoly  and,  if  necessary,  supersede  it,  but  the  system 
which  has  grown  up  by  a  natural  process  is  to  be  given  full 
opportunity  to  justify  itself  before  government  assumes  its 
functions.  It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  government 
regulation  will  be  faultless,  American  experience  with  regu- 
lating commissions  has  not  been  altogether  satisfactory, 
but  society  needs  protection,  and  this  the  government  may 
well  provide. 

216.  Trusts. — The  tendency  to  monopoly  is  not  con- 
fined to  any  one  department  of  economic  activity.  Manu- 
facturing, mercantile,  and  banking  companies  have  all 
tended  to  combine  in  large  corporations,  partly  for  greater 
economy,  partly  for  an  increase  of  profits  through  manipu- 
lating reorganization  of  stock  companies,  and  partly  for 
centralization  of  control.  In  the  process,  while  the  cost  of 
certain  products  has  been  reduced  by  economy  in  operating 
expenses,  the  enormous  dividend  requirements  of  heavily 
capitalized  corporations  has  necessitated  high  prices,  a  large 


210       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

business,  and  the  danger  of  overproduction,  and  a  virtual 
monopoly  has  made  it  possible  to  lift  prices  to  a  level  that 
pinches  the  consumer.  By  a  grim  irony  of  circumstance, 
these  giant  and  often  ruthless  corporations  have  taken  the 
name  of  trusts,  but  they  do  not  incline  to  recognize  that 
the  people's  rights  are  in  their  trust.  Not  every  trust  is 
harmful  to  society,  and  certainly  trusts  need  not  be  de- 
stroyed. They  have  come  into  existence  by  a  natural 
economic  process,  and  as  far  as  they  cheapen  the  cost  of 
production  and  improve  the  manufacture  and  distribution 
of  the  product  they  are  a  social  gain,  but  they  need  to  be 
controlled,  and  it  is  the  function  of  government  to  regulate 
them  in  the  interests  of  society  at  large.  It  has  been  found 
by  experience  that  publicity  of  corporate  business  is  one  of 
the  best  methods  of  control.  In  the  long  run  every  social 
organization  must  obtain  the  sanction  of  public  opinion  if 
it  is  to  become  a  recognized  institution,  and  in  a  democratic 
country  like  the  United  States  no  trust  can  become  so 
independent  or  monopolistic  that  it  can  afford  to  disregard 
the  public  will  and  the  public  good,  as  certain  American 
corporations  have  discovered  to  their  grief. 

217.  The  Chances  of  Progress. — Every  economic  prob- 
lem resolves  itself  into  a  social  problem.  The  satisfaction 
of  human  wants  is  the  province  of  the  manufacturer,  the 
merchant,  and  the  transporter,  but  it  is  not  limited  to  any 
one  or  all  of  these,  nor  is  society  under  their  control.  The 
range  of  wants  is  so  great,  the  desires  of  social  beings  branch 
out  into  so  many  broad  interests,  that  no  one  line  of  enter- 
prise or  one  group  of  men  can  control  more  than  a  small 
portion  of  society.  The  whole  is  greater  than  any  of  its 
parts.  There  will  be  groups  that  are  unfortunate,  com- 
munities and  races  that  will  suffer  temporarily  in  the 
process  of  social  adjustment,  but  the  welfare  of  the  many 
can  never  long  be  sacrificed  to  the  selfishness  of  the  few. 
Social  revolution  in  some  form  will  take  place.  It  may  not 
be  accomplished  in  a  day  or  a  year,  but  the  social  will  is 
sure  to  assert  itself  and  to  right  the  people's  wrongs.  The 
social  process  that  is  going  on  in  the  modern  city  has  aggra- 
vated the  friction  of  industrial  relations;  the  haste  with 


Exchange  and  Transportation  211 

which  business  is  carried  on  is  one  of  its  chief  causes;  but 
the  very  speed  of  the  movement  will  carry  society  the 
sooner  out  of  its  acute  distresses  into  a  better  adjusted 
system  of  industry.  So  far  most  of  the  world's  progress 
has  been  by  a  slow  course  of  natural  adjustment  of  indi- 
viduals and  groups  to  one  another;  that  process  cannot  be 
stopped,  but  it  can  be  directed  by  those  who  are  conscious 
of  the  maladjustments  that  exist  and  perceive  ways  and 
means  of  improvement.  Under  such  persons  as  leaders 
purposive  progress  may  be  achieved  more  rapidly  and 
effectually  in  the  near  future. 

READING  REFERENCES 

HADLEY:  Standards  of  Public  Morality,  pages  33-96. 

NEARING:  Wages  in  the  United  States,  pages  93-96. 

NEARING  AND  WATSON:  Economics,  pages  241-255,  314-320. 

VROOMAN:  American  Railway  Problems,  pages  1-181. 

BOLEN:  Plain  Facts  as  to  the  Trusts  and  the  Tariff,  pages  3-236. 

BOGART:  Economic  History  of  the  United  States,  pages  186-216,  305- 

337,  400-418. 
MONTGOMERY:  Vital  American  Problems,  pages  3-91. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
THE   PEOPLE   WHO   WORK 

218.  Economic  vs.  Social  Values. — Economic  interests 
may  receive  first  attention  in  the  city,  but  the  work  that  is 
done  is  of  less  importance  than  the  people  who  work. 
Things  may  so  fill  the  public  mind  that  the  real  values  of 
the  various  elements  that  enter  into  life  may  become  dis- 
torted.   A  penny  may  be  held  so  close  to  the  eye  as  to 
hide  the  sun.     Making  a  living  may  seem  more  important 
than  making  the  most  of  life.   Persons  who  are  absorbed  in 
business  are  liable  to  lose  their  sense  of  proportion  between 
people  and  property;  the  capitalist  overburdens  himself 
with  business  cares  until  he  breaks  down  under  the  nervous 
strain,  and  overworks  his  subordinates  until  they  often 
become  physical  wrecks,  but  it  is  not  because  he  personally 
intends  to  do  harm.     Eventually  the  social  welfare  of  every 
class  will  become  the  supreme  concern  and  the  study  of 
social  efficiency  will  fill  a  larger  place  than  the  study  of 
economic  efficiency. 

219.  The  Social  Classes. — There  is  a  natural  line  of 
social  cleavage  that  has  made  it  a  customary  expression  to 
speak  of  the  upper,  the  middle,  and  the  lower  classes.     It 
is  impossible  to  separate  them  sharply,  for  they  shade  into 
one  another.     Theoretically,  in  a  democratic  country  like 
America  there  should  be  no  class  distinctions,  but  in  colo- 
nial days  birth  and  education  had  an  acknowledged  social 
position  that  did  not  belong  to  the  common  man,  and  in 
the  nineteenth  century  a  wealthy  class  came  into  existence 
that  wrested  supremacy  from  professional  men  and  those 
who  could  rely  alone  on  their  intellectual  achievements.    It 
has  never  been  impossible  for  individuals  to  push  their 
way  up  the  social  path  of  success,  but  it  has  been  increas- 
ingly difficult  for  a  self-made  man  to  break  through  into 

212 


The  People  Who  Work  213 

the  circle  of  the  elite.  There  are  still  young  men  who 
come  out  of  the  country  without  pecuniary  capital  but 
with  physical  strength  and  courage  and,  after  years  of  per- 
sistent attack,  conquer  the  citadel  of  place  and  power,  but 
the  odds  are  against  the  youth  without  either  capital  or  a 
higher  education  than  the  high  school  gives.  Without  un- 
usual ability  and  great  strength  of  will  it  is  impossible  to 
rise  high  if  one  lacks  capital  or  influential  friends,  but 
with  the  help  of  any  two  of  these  it  is  quite  possible  to  gain 
success.  Employers  complain  that  the  vast  majority  of 
persons  whom  they  employ  are  lacking  hi  energy,  ambition, 
and  ability.  Important  as  is  the  possession  of  wealth  and 
influence  it  seems  to  be  the  psychic  values  that  ultimately 
determine  the  individual's  place  in  American  society.  We 
shall  expect,  therefore,  to  find  an  upper  class  in  society 
composed  of  some  who  hold  their  place  because  of  the 
prestige  that  belongs  to  birth  or  property,  and  of  others 
who  have  made  their  own  way  up  because  they  had  the 
necessary  qualities  to  succeed.  Below  them  in  the  social 
scale  we  shall  expect  to  find  a  larger  class  who,  because 
they  were  not  consumed  by  ambition  to  excel,  or  because 
they  lacked  the  means  to  achieve  distinction,  have  come 
to  occupy  a  place  midway  between  the  high  and  the  low,  to 
fill  the  numerous  professional  and  business  positions  below 
the  kings  and  great  captains,  and  to  hold  the  balance  of 
power  between  the  aristocracy  and  the  proletariat.  Below 
these,  in  turn,  are  the  so-called  masses,  who  fill  the  lower 
ranks  of  labor,  and  who  are  essential  to  the  well-being  of 
those  who  are  reckoned  above  them. 

220.  The  Worth  of  the  Upper  Class. — It  is  a  common 
belief  among  the  lowly  that  the  people  who  hold  a  place  in 
the  upper  ranks  are  not  worthy  of  their  lofty  position,  and 
there  are  many  who  hope  to  see  such  a  general  levelling  as 
took  place  during  the  French  Revolution.  They  are  forti- 
fied in  their  opinion  by  the  lavish  and  irresponsible  way  in 
which  the  wealthy  use  their  money,  and  they  are  tantalized 
by  the  display  of  luxury  which,  if  times  are  hard,  are  in 
aggravating  contrast  to  the  hardship  and  suffering  of  the 
poor.  The  scale  of  living  of  the  millionaire  cannot  justify 


214        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

itself  in  the  eyes  of  the  man  who  finds  it  difficult  to  make 
both  ends  meet.  Undoubtedly  society  will  find  it  neces- 
sary some  day  to  devise  a  more  equitable  method  of  dis- 
tribution. But  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  most  of  the 
rich  are  idle  parasites  on  society,  or  that  their  service,  as 
well  as  their  wealth,  could  be  dispensed  with  in  the  social 
order.  In  spite  of  the  impression  fostered  by  a  sensational 
press  that  the  average  person  of  wealth  devotes  himself  to 
the  gaieties  and  dissipations  of  a  pleasure-loving  society, 
the  truth  is  that  after  the  self-centred  years  of  callow  youth 
are  over  most  men  and  women  take  life  seriously  and  only 
the  few  are  idlers.  If  the  investigator  should  go  through 
the  wealthy  sections  of  the  cities  and  suburbs,  and  record 
his  observations,  he  would  find  that  the  men  spend  their 
days  feeling  the  pulse  of  business  in  the  down-town  offices, 
directing  the  energies  of  thousands  of  individuals,  keeping 
open  the  arteries  of  trade,  using  as  productive  capital  the 
wealth  that  they  count  their  own,  making  possible  the 
economic  activity  and  the  very  existence  of  the  persons 
who  find  fault  with  their  worthlessness.  He  would  find  the 
women  in  the  nature  of  the  case  less  occupied  with  public 
affairs,  but  interested  and  enlisted  in  all  sorts  of  good  enter- 
prises, and,  while  often  wasteful  of  time  and  money,  bearing 
a  part  increasingly  in  the  promotion  of  social  reforms  by 
active  participation  and  by  generous  contributions.  The 
immense  gains  that  have  come  to  society  through  philan- 
thropy and  social  organization,  as  well  as  through  the 
channels  of  industry,  would  have  been  impossible  without 
the  sympathetic  activity  of  the  so-called  upper  class. 

221.  Who  Belong  to  the  City  Aristocracy? — Most  of 
those  who  belong  to  the  upper  class  are  native  Americans. 
They  may  not  be  far  removed  from  European  ancestry,  but 
for  themselves  they  have  had  the  advantage  of  a  rearing  in 
American  ways  in  the  home,  the  school,  and  society  at 
large.  They  are  both  city  and  country  bred.  The  country 
boy  has  the  advantage  of  physical  strength  and  better 
manual  training,  but  he  often  lacks  intellectual  develop- 
ment, and  usually  has  little  capital  to  start  with.  The  city 
youth  knows  the  city  ways  and  possesses  the  asset  of 


The  People  Who  Work  215 

acquaintances  and  friendships,  if  not  of  capital,  in  the  place 
where  he  expects  to  make  a  living.  He  is  helped  to  success 
if  the  way  is  prepared  for  him  by  relatives  who  have  at- 
tained place  and  property,  but  he  is  as  often  cursed  by 
having  more  money  and  more  liberty  than  is  good  for  him, 
while  still  in  his  irresponsible  years.  No  place  is  secure 
until  the  young  man  has  proved  his  personal  worth,  whether 
he  is  from  the  city  or  the  country  and  has  come  up  out  of 
poverty  or  from  a  home  of  wealth. 

222.  Sources  of  Wealth. — The  large  majority  of  persons 
of  wealth  have  won  or  inherited  their  property  from  the 
economic  industries  of  manufacturing,  trade,  commerce, 
and  transportation,  or  real  estate.     Certain  individuals  have 
been  fortunate  in  their  mining   or   public-service  invest- 
ments; others  make  a  large  income  as  corporation  officials, 
lawyers,  physicians,  engineers,  and  architects,  but  most  of 
them  have  attained  their  success  as  capitalists,  and  they  are 
able  to  maintain  a  position  of  prominence  and  ease  because 
they  use  rather  than  hoard  their  wealth.     It  is  easy  to 
underestimate  the  usefulness  of  human  beings  who  finance 
the  world  of  industry,  and  in  estimating  the  returns  that 
are  due  to  members  of  the  various  social  classes  this  form 
of  public  service  that  is  so  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  all 
must  receive  recognition. 

223.  How  They  Live. — Unfortunately,  the  possession  of 
money  furnishes  a  constant  temptation  to  self-indulgence 
which,  if  carried  far,  is  destructive  of  personal  health  and 
character,  weakens  family  affection,  and  threatens  the  soli- 
darity of  society.    The  dwelling-house  is  costly  and  the 
furnishings  are  expensive.    A  retinue  of  servants  performs 
many  useless  functions  in  the  operation  of  the  establish- 
ment.    Ostentation  often  carried  to  the  point  of  vulgarity 
marks  habits  of  speech,  of  dress,  and  of  conduct  both  within 
and  outside  of  the  home.     Every  member  of  the  family  has 
his  own  friends  and  interests  and  usually  his  own  share 
of  the  family  allowance.    The  adults  of  the  family  are 
unreasonably  busy  with  social  functions  that  are  not  worth 
their  up-keep;  the  children  are  coddled  and  supplied  with 
predigested  culture  in  schools  that  cater  to  the  trade,  and 


216       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

if  they  are  not  spoiled  in  the  process  of  preparation  go  on 
to  college  as  a  form  of  social  recreation.  There  are  excep- 
tions, of  course,  to  this  manner  of  life,  but  those  who  follow 
it  constitute  a  distinct  type  and  by  their  manner  of  living 
exert  a  disintegrating  influence  in  American  society. 

224.  The  Middle  Class. — The  middle  class  is  not  so  dis- 
tinct a  stratum  of  society  as  are  the  upper  and  lower  classes. 
It  includes  the  bulk  of  the  population  in  the  United  States, 
and  from  its  ranks  come  the  teachers,  ministers,  physicians, 
lawyers,  artists,  musicians,  authors,  and  statesmen;  the 
civil,  mechanical,  and  electrical  engineers,  the  architects, 
and  the  scientists  of  every  name;  most  of  the  tradesmen  of 
the  towns  and  the  farmers  of  the  country;  office  managers 
and  agents,  handicraftsmen  of  the  better  grade,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  factory  workers.  They  are  the  people  who 
maintain  the  Protestant  churches  and  their  enterprises, 
who  make  up  a  large  part  of  the  constituency  of  educational 
institutions  and  buy  books  and  reviews,  and  who  patronize 
the  better  class  of  entertainments  and  amusements.  These 
people  are  too  numerous  to  belong  to  any  one  race,  and  they 
include  both  city  and  country  bred.  The  educated  class  of 
foreigners  finds  its  place  among  them,  assimilates  American 
culture,  and  intermarries  in  the  second  generation.  Into 
the  middle  class  of  the  cities  is  absorbed  the  constant  stream 
of  rural  immigration,  except  the  few  who  rise  into  the  upper 
class  or  fall  into  the  lower  class.  In  the  city  itself  grow  up 
thousands  of  boys  and  girls  who  pass  through  the  schools 
and  into  business  and  home  life  in  their  native  environ- 
ment, and  who  constitute  the  solid  stratum  of  urban  society. 

These  people  have  not  the  means  to  make  large  display. 
They  are  influenced  by  the  fashions  of  the  upper  class, 
sometimes  are  induced  to  applaud  their  poses  or  are 
hypnotized  to  do  their  bidding,  but  they  have  their  own 
class  standards,  and  most  of  them  are  contented  to  occupy 
their  modest  station.  Only  a  minority  of  them  own  their 
homes,  but  as  a  class  they  can  afford  to  pay  a  reasonable 
rent  and  to  furnish  their  houses  tastefully,  to  hire  one  or 
two  household  servants,  and  to  live  in  comfort.  Twenty 
years  ago  they  owned  bicycles  and  enjoyed  century  runs 


The  People  Who  Work  217 

into  the  country  on  Sunday:  since  then  some  of  them  have 
been  promoted  to  automobiles  and  enjoy  a  low-priced  car 
as  much  as  the  wealthy  appreciate  their  high-priced  limou- 
sines. As  in  rural  villages,  so  in  the  city  they  form  various 
groups  of  neighbors  or  friends  based  on  a  common  interest, 
and  find  entertainment  and  intellectual  stimulus  from  such 
companionship.  On  the  roster  of  social  organizations  are 
musical  societies  and  bridge  clubs,  literary  and  art  circles, 
dramatic  associations,  women's  clubs,  and  men's  fraterni- 
ties. The  people  meet  at  dances,  teas,  and  receptions;  they 
mingle  with  others  of  their  kind  at  church  or  theatre,  and 
co-operate  with  other  workers  in  settlements  and  charity 
organizations.  They  educate  their  children  in  the  public 
schools  and  in  increasing  numbers  give  them  the  benefit  of 
a  college  education. 

People  of  the  middle  class  are  by  no  means  debarred  from 
passing  up  to  a  higher  social  grade  if  they  have  the  ability 
or  good  fortune  to  get  ahead,  nor  are  they  guaranteed  a 
permanent  place  in  their  own  native  group  unless  they  are 
competent  to  keep  their  footing.  There  is  no  surety  to 
keep  the  independent  tradesman  from  failing  in  business  or 
the  careless  youth  from  falling  into  intemperate  or  vicious 
habits;  many  hazards  must  be  crossed  and  hindrances  over- 
come before  an  assured  position  is  secured  in  the  com- 
munity, but  the  opportunities  are  far  better  than  for  the 
handicapped  strugglers  below. 

225.  Bonds  of  Union  Between  Classes. — Though  the 
middle  class  is  distinct  from  the  aristocracy  of  society  in 
America,  it  is  not  shut  off  from  association  with  it.  The 
same  is  true  in  a  less  degree  of  the  lowest  class.  Party  lines 
are  vertical,  not  horizontal.  Religious  and  intellectual 
lines  are  only  less  so.  The  politician  cannot  afford  to 
ignore  a  single  vote,  and  the  working  man's  counts  as  much 
as  the  plutocrat's.  There  are  few  churches  that  do  not 
have  representatives  of  all  classes,  from  the  gilded  pew- 
holder  to  the  workman  with  dingy  hands  who  sits  under 
the  gallery.  The  school  is  no  respecter  of  class  lines.  The 
store,  the  street-car,  and  the  railroad  are  all  common  prop- 
erty, where  one  jostles  another  without  regard  to  class. 


218        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

Friendship  oversteps   all   boundaries,    even   of   race   and 
creed. 

226.  The  Lower  Class. — The  lower  class  consists  of 
those  who  are  dependent  upon  others  for  the  opportunity 
to  work  or  for  the  charity  that  keeps  them  alive.     They 
commonly  lack  initiative  and  ambition;  if  they  have  those 
qualities  they  are  hindered  by  their  environment  from  ever 
getting  ahead.     Sometimes  they  make  an  attempt  in  a 
small  way  to  carry  on  trade  on  their  own  resources,  but 
they  seldom  win  success.     Their  skill  as  factory  operatives 
is  not  so  great  as  to  gain  for  them  a  good  wage,  and  when 
business  is  slack  they  are  the  first  to  be  laid  off  the  pay-roll, 
and  they  help  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed.     Be- 
cause of  the  American  system  of  compulsory  education 
they  are  not  absolutely  illiterate,  but  their  abiKty  is  small; 
they  leave  school  early,  and  what  little  education  they  have 
does  not  help  them  to  earn  a  living.    They  do  not  usually 
choose  an  occupation,  but  they  follow  lie  line  of  least 
resistance,  taking  the  first  job  that  offers,  and  often  finding 
later  that  they  never  can  hope  for  advancement   in  it. 
Frequently  they  are  the  victims  of  weak  will  and  inherited 
tendencies  that  lead  to  intemperance,   vice,   and  crime. 
Thousands  of  them  are  living  in  the  unwholesome  tene- 
ments that  lack  comfort  and  attractiveness.     There  is  no 
inducement  to  cultivate  good  habits,  and  no  possibility  of 
keeping  the  children  free  from  moral  and  physical  con- 
tamination.    As  a  class  they  are  continually  on  the  edge  of 
poverty  and  often  submerged  in  it.     They  know  what  it  is 
to  feel  the  pinch  of  hunger,  to  shiver  before  the  blasts  of 
winter,  and  to  look  upon  coal  and  ice  as  luxuries.     They 
become  discouraged  from  the  struggle  as  they  grow  older, 
often  get  to  be  chronically  dependent  on  charity,  and  not 
infrequently  fall  at  last  into  a  pauper's  grave. 

227.  The  Degenerate  American. — Many  of  these  people 
are  Americans,  swarms  of  them  are  foreigners  who  have 
come  here  to  better  their  fortunes  and  have  been  disap- 
pointed or,  finding  the  difficulties  more  than  they  antici- 
pated,  have  settled  down   fairly  contented  in   the  city. 
Many  persons  think  that  it  is  the  alien  immigrant  who 


The  People  Who  Work  219 

causes  the  increase  in  intemperance  and  crime  that  has 
been  characteristic  of  city  life,  but  statistics  lay  much  of 
the  guilt  upon  the  degenerate  American.  There  are  poor 
whites  in  the  cities  as  there  are  in  the  South  country. 
The  riffraff  drifts  to  town  from  the  country  as  the  Roman 
proletariat  gravitated  to  the  capital  in  the  days  of  deca- 
dence. A  great  many  young  persons  who  enter  the  city 
with  high  hopes  of  making  a  fortune  fail  to  get  a  foothold 
or  gradually  lose  their  grip  and  are  swept  along  in  the 
current  of  the  city's  debris.  Illness,  accident,  and  repeated 
failure  are  all  causes  of  degeneration. 

Along  with  misfortune  belongs  misconduct.  Those 
causes  which  produce  poverty  like  intemperance,  idleness, 
and  ignorance,  are  productive  of  degeneracy,  also.  They 
render  the  individual  unfit  to  meet  the  responsibilities  of 
life,  and  tend  not  only  to  incompetence  but  also  to  sen- 
suality and  even  crime.  Added  to  the  various  physical 
causes  are  such  psychical  influences  as  contact  with  de- 
graded minds  or  with  base  literature  or  art,  loss  of  religious 
faith,  and  loss  of  self-confidence  as  to  one's  ability  to 
succeed. 

Personal  degeneracy  tends  to  perpetuate  itself  in  the 
family.  Drunken,  depraved,  or  feeble-minded  parents 
usually  produce  children  with  the  same  inheritances  or 
tendencies ;  family  quarrelling  and  an  utter  absence  of  moral 
training  do  not  foster  the  development  of  character.  A 
slum  environment  in  the  city  strengthens  the  evil  tenden- 
cies of  such  a  home,  as  it  counterbalances  the  good  effects 
of  a  wholesome  home  environment.  Mental  and  moral 
degeneracy  is  always  present  in  society,  and  if  unchecked 
spreads  widely;  physical  degeneracy  is  so  common  as  to  be 
alarming,  resulting  in  dangerous  forms  of  disease,  imbe- 
cility, and  insanity.  Society  is  waking  to  the  need  of  pro- 
tecting itself  against  degeneracy  in  all  its  forms,  and  of 
cutting  out  the  roots  of  the  evil  from  the  social  body. 


220       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

NEARING:  Social  Religion,  pages  104-157. 

COMMONS:  "Is  Class  Conflict  in  America  Growing?"  art.  in  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Sociology,  13:  756-783. 
HENDERSON:  Social  Elements,  pages  276-283. 
NEARING  AND  WATSON:  Economics,  pages  185-193. 
WARNER:  American  Charities,  pages  50-117,  276-292. 
PATTEN:  Social  Basis  of  Religion,  pages  107-133. 
BLACKMAR  AND  GILLIN:  Outlines  of  Sociology,  pages  499-512. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
THE  IMMIGRANT 

228.  The  Immigrant  Problem. — An  increasing  propor- 
tion of  the  city's  population  is  foreign  born  or  of  foreign 
parentage.  For  a  hundred  years  America  has  been  the 
goal  of  the  European  peasant's  ambition,  the  magnet  that 
has  drawn  him  from  interior  hamlet  and  ocean  port.  Mi- 
gration has  been  one  of  the  mighty  forces  that  have  been 
reshaping  society.  The  American  people  are  being  altered 
by  it,  and  it  is  a  question  whether  America  will  maintain  its 
national  characteristics  if  the  volume  of  immigration  con- 
tinues unchecked.  Europe  has  been  deeply  affected,  and 
the  people  who  constitute  the  migrating  mass  have  been 
changed  most  of  all.  And  the  end  is  not  yet. 

The  immigrant  constitutes  one  of  the  problems  of  society. 
Never  has  there  been  in  history  such  a  race  movement  as 
that  which  has  added  to  one  nation  a  population  of  more 
than  twenty  million  in  a  half  century.  It  is  a  problem  that 
affects  the  welfare  of  races  and  continents  outside  of 
America,  as  well  as  here,  and  that  affects  millions  yet 
unborn,  and  millions  more  who  might  have  been  born  were 
it  not  for  the  unfavorable  changes  that  have  taken  place 
because  of  the  shift  in  population.  It  is  a  problem  that  has 
to  do  with  all  phases  of  group  life — its  economic,  educa- 
tional, political,  moral,  and  religious  interests.  It  is  a 
problem  that  demands  the  united  wisdom  of  all  who  care 
for  the  welfare  of  humanity  hi  the  days  to  come.  The 
heart  of  the  problem  is  first  whether  the  immigrant  shall 
be  permitted  to  crowd  into  this  country  unhindered,  or 
whether  sterner  barriers  shall  be  placed  in  the  way  of  the 
increasing  multitude;  secondly,  if  restrictions  are  decided 
upon  what  shall  be  their  nature,  and  whose  interests  shall 

221 


222        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

be  considered  first — those  of  the  immigrant,  of  the  countries 
involved,  or  of  world  progress  as  a  whole  ? 

The  problem  can  be  approached  best  by  considering  (i) 
the  history  of  immigration,  (2)  the  present  facts  about 
immigration,  (3)  the  tendencies  and  effects  of  immigration. 
Migrations  have  occurred  everywhere  in  history,  and  they 
are  progressing  in  these  days  in  other  countries  besides  the 
United  States.  Canada  is  adding  thousands  every  year, 
parts  of  South  America  are  already  German  or  Italian 
because  of  immigration,  in  lesser  numbers  emigrants  are 
going  to  the  colonies  that  the  European  nations,  especially 
the  English,  have  located  all  over  the  world.  European 
immigration  to  North  America  has  been  so  prolonged  and 
abundant  that  it  constitutes  the  particular  phenomenon 
that  most  deserves  attention.  Other  nations  have  fought 
wars  to  secure  additional  territory  for  their  people;  the 
immigrant  occupation  of  America  has  been  a  peaceful  con- 
quest. 

229.  The  Irish. — Although  the  early  occupation  of  this 
continent  was  by  immigration  from  Europe,  after  the 
Revolution  the  increase  of  population  was  almost  entirely 
by  natural  growth.  Large  families  were  the  rule  and  a 
hardy  people  was  rapidly  gaining  the  mastery  of  the  eastern 
part  of  the  continent.  It  was  not  until  1820  that  the  new 
immigration  became  noticeable  and  the  government  took 
legislative  action  to  regulate  it  (1819).  Between  1840  and 
1880  three  distinct  waves  of  immigration  broke  on  Ameri- 
can shores.  The  first  was  Irish.  The  Irish  peasants  were 
starving  from  a  potato  famine  that  extended  over  several 
years  in  the  forties,  and  they  poured  by  the  thousand  into 
America,  the  women  becoming  domestic  servants  and  the 
men  the  unskilled  laborers  that  were  needed  in  the  con- 
struction camps.  They  built  roads,  dug  canals,  and  laid 
the  first  railways.  Complaint  was  made  that  they  lowered 
the  standards  of  wages  and  of  living,  that  their  intemperate, 
improvident  ways  tended  to  complicate  the  problem  of 
poverty,  and  that  their  Catholic  religion  made  them  dan- 
gerous, but  they  continued  to  come  until  the  movement 
reached  its  climax,  in  1851,  when  272,000  passed  through 


The  Immigrant  223 

the  gates  of  the  Atlantic  ports.  The  Irish- American  has 
become  an  important  element  of  the  population,  especially 
in  the  Eastern  cities,  and  has  shown  special  aptitude  for 
politics  and  business. 

230.  Germans  and  Scandinavians. — The  Irishman  was 
followed  by  the  German.     He  was  attracted  by  the  rich 
agricultural  lands  of  the  Middle  West  and  the  opportunities 
for  education  and  trade  in  the  towns  and  cities.     German 
political  agitators  who  had  failed  to  propagate  democracy 
in  the  revolutionary  days  of  1848  made  their  way  to  a 
place  where  they  could  mould  the  German-American  ideas. 
While  the  Irish  settled  down  in  the  seaboard  towns,  the 
Germans  went  West,   and  constituted  one  of  the  solid 
groups  that  was  to  build  the  future  cosmopolitan  nation. 
The   German  was  followed  by   the   Scandinavian.    The 
people  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  were  increasing 
in  number,  but  their  rough,  cold  country  could  not  support 
them  all.    As  the  Norsemen  took  to  the  sea  in  the  ninth 
century,  so  the  Scandinavian  did  in  the  nineteenth,  but 
this  time  in  a  peaceful  migration  toward  the  setting  sun. 
They  began  coming  soon  after  the  Civil  War,  and  by  1882 
they  numbered  thirteen  per  cent  of  the  total  immigration. 
They  were  a  specially  valuable  asset,  for  they  were  indus- 
trious agriculturists  and  occupied  the  valuable  but  unused 
acres  of  the  Northwest,  where  they  planted  the  wheat  belt 
of  the  United  States,  learned  American  ways  and  founded 
American  institutions,  and  have  become  one  of  the  best 
strains  in  the  American  blood. 

231.  The  New  Immigrants. — If  the  United  States  could 
have  continued  to  receive  mainly  such  people  as  these  from 
northern  Europe,  there  would  be  little  cause  to  complain 
of  the  volume  of  immigration,  but  since  1880  the  tide  has 
been  setting  in  from  southern  and  eastern  Europe  and  even 
from  Asia,  bringing  in  large  numbers  of  persons  who  are 
not  of  allied  stock,  have  been  little  educated,  and  do  not 
understand  or  fully  sympathize  with  American  principles 
and  ideals,  and  for  the  most  part  are  unskilled  workmen. 
These  have  come  in  such  enormous  numbers  as  to  consti- 
tute a  real  menace  and  to  compel  attention. 


224        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

TABLE  OF  IMMIGRATION  FOR  THE  YEAR  ENDING 

JUNE  30,  1914 
(Races  numbering  less  than  10,000  each  are  not  included) 


South  Italians 251,612        Irish 33,898 

Jews 138,051        Slovaks 25,819 

Poles 122,657        Roumanians 24,070 

Germans 79,871        Lithuanians 21,584 

English 51,746        Scotch 18,997 

Greeks 4S,88i        French 18,166 

Russians 44,957  Bulgarians,  Servians,  and 

North  Italians 44,802  Montenegrins 15,084 

Hungarians 44,538        Mexicans 13,089 

Croatians  and  Sloveni-  Finns 12,805 

ans 37,284        Dutch  and  Flemings 12,566 

Ruthenians 36,727        Spanish 11,064 

Scandinavians 36,053 


232.  Italians  and  Slavs. — Most  numerous  of  these  are 
the  Italians.  At  home  they  feel  the  pressure  of  population, 
the  pinch  of  small  income,  and  heavy  taxation.  Here  it 
costs  less  to  be  a  citizen  and  there  are  more  opportunities 
for  a  livelihood.  Gangs  of  Italian  laborers  have  taken  the 
place  of  the  Irish.  Italians  have  established  themselves 
in  the  small  trades,  and  some  of  them  find  a  place  in  the 
factory.  Two-thirds  of  them  are  from  the  country,  and 
they  find  opportunity  to  use  their  agricultural  knowledge 
as  farm  laborers.  In  California  and  Louisiana  they  have 
established  settlements  of  their  own,  and  in  the  East  they 
make  a  foreign  fringe  on  the  outskirts  of  suburban  towns. 
North  Italy  is  more  progressive  than  the  south  and  the 
qualities  of  the  people  are  of  higher  grade,  but  the  bulk  of 
emigration  is  from  the  region  of  Naples  and  Sicily.  Among 
the  southern  Italians  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  is  high, 
they  have  the  reputation  of  being  slippery  in  business 
relations,  and  not  a  few  anarchists  and  criminals  are  found 
among  them.  It  is  not  reasonable  to  expect  that  these 
people  will  measure  up  to  the  level  of  the  steady,  reliable, 
and  hard-working  American  or  north  European,  especially 


The  Immigrant 

as  large  numbers  of  them  are  birds  of  passage  spending  the 
winter  in  Italy  or  going  home  for  a  time  when  business  in 
America  is  depressed.  Yet  the  great  majority  of  those  who 
settle  here  are  peaceable,  ambitious,  and  hard-working 
men  and  women. 

Alongside  the  Italian  is  the  Slav.  There  are  so  many 
varieties  of  him  that  he  is  confusing.  He  comes  from  the 
various  provinces  of  Russia,  from  the  conglomerate  empire 
of  Austro-Hungary,  and  from  the  Balkan  states.  In  phy- 
sique he  is  sturdier  than  the  Italian  and  mentally  he  is 
less  excitable  and  nervous,  but  he  drinks  heavily  and  is 
often  murderous  when  not  sober.  The  Slav  has  come  to 
America  to  find  a  place  in  the  sun.  At  home  he  has  suffered 
from  political  oppression  and  poverty;  he  has  had  little 
education  of  body  or  mind;  he  is  subject  to  his  primitive 
impulses  as  the  west  European  long  ago  ceased  to  be.  It 
is  not  easy  for  America  to  assimilate  large  numbers  of 
such  backward  peoples,  but  the  Slav  is  coming  at  the  rate 
of  three  hundred  thousand  a  year.  The  Slav  is  depended 
upon  for  the  hard  labor  of  mine  and  foundry,  of  sugar  and 
oil  refineries,  and  of  meat-packing  establishments.  Hun- 
dreds and  thousands  are  in  the  coal  and  iron  regions  of 
Pennsylvania,  Illinois,  Ohio,  and  West  Virginia.  The 
Bohemians  and  Poles  more  frequently  than  the  others  bring 
their  families  with  them,  and  to  some  extent  settle  in  the 
rural  districts,  but  the  bulk  of  the  Slavs  are  men  who  herd 
in  congested  boarding-houses,  move  frequently  from  one 
industrial  centre  to  another,  and  naturally  are  very  slow 
to  become  assimilated. 

233.  The  Jews. — Of  all  the  races  that  have  found 
asylum  in  America  none  have  felt  abroad  the  heavy  hand 
of  oppression  more  than  the  Jew.  He  has  been  the  world's 
outcast  through  nineteen  centuries,  but  in  America  he  has 
found  freedom  to  expand.  One-fifth  of  all  the  Jews  are 
already  in  America,  and  the  rate  of  immigration  is  not  far 
from  140,000  a  year.  The  immigrant  Jews  are  of  different 
grades,  some  are  educated  and  well-to-do,  but  the  masses 
are  poor,  and  the  most  recent  immigrants  have  low  ideals 
of  living.  Few  of  those  who  come  settle  in  the  country 


226       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

districts;  the  large  majority  herd  in  the  city  tenements 
and  engage  in  small  trades  and  manufacturing.  Jewish 
masters  are  unmerciful  as  sweaters,  unprincipled  as  land- 
lords, and  disreputable  as  white  slavers,  but  no  man  rises 
above  limitations  that  others  have  set  for  him  like  the  Jew, 
and  with  ambition,  ability,  and  persistence  the  race  is 
pushing  its  way  to  the  front.  The  young  people  are  eager 
for  an  education,  and  are  often  among  the  keenest  pupils 
in  their  classes.  Later  they  make  their  mark  in  the  pro- 
fessions as  well  as  in  business.  The  Jew  has  found  a  new 
Canaan  in  the  West. 

234.  The  Lesser  Peoples. — Besides  these  great  groups 
that  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  incoming  millions,  there  are 
representatives  from  all  the  nations  and  tribes  of  Europe. 
All  parts  of  Great  Britain  have  sent  their  people,  and  from 
Canada  so  many  have  come  as  almost  to  impoverish  cer- 
tain sections.  French-Canadians  are  numerous  in  the  mill 
cities  of  New  England.  From  the  Netherlands  there  has 
always  been  a  small  contingent.  Portugal  has  sent  island- 
ers from  the  Azores  and  Cape  Verde.  The  Finns  are  here, 
the  Lithuanians  from  Russia,  the  Magyars  from  Hungary. 
The  Greeks  are  pouring  in  from  their  sunny  hills  and  valleys; 
they  rival  the  Italians  in  the  fruit  trade,  and  monopolize 
the  bootblack  industry  in  certain  cities.  With  the  twen- 
tieth century  have  come  the  Turks  and  their  Asiatic  sub- 
jects, the  Syrians  and  the  Armenians.  All  these  peoples 
have  race  peculiarities,  prejudices,  and  superstitions.  Most 
of  their  members  belong  in  the  lower  grades  of  society  and 
their  coming  is  a  distinct  danger  to  the  nation's  future. 
There  can  be  no  question,  of  course,  that  individuals  among 
them  possess  ability  and  even  talent,  and  that  certain 
groups  like  those  from  Great  Britain  and  the  Netherlands 
are  exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  but  there  is  a  strong 
conviction  among  social  workers  and  students  that  those 
who  are  here  should  be  assimilated  before  many  more 
arrive.  Definite  measures  are  advocated  by  which  it  is 
expected  that  the  government  or  private  agencies  may  be 
able  to  make  over  these  latest  aliens  into  reputable,  useful 
American  citizens. 


The  Immigrant 

235.  Public  Attitude   toward   Immigration. — Although 
interest  in  national  and  immigrant  welfare  is  far  less  keen 
than  it  well  might  be,  the  tremendous  consequences  of  the 
wide-spread  movement  have  not  passed  unnoticed.   Wage- 
earners  already  here  have  felt  the  effects  of  low-grade  com- 
petition and  have  clamored  for  restrictive  legislation.    On 
race  rather  than  economic  grounds  Asiatics  have  been  ex- 
cluded except  for  the  few  already  here.     Federal  regulation 
has  been  increased  with  reference  to  all  immigrant  traffic. 
This  has  been  based  increasingly  on  investigation  by  pri- 
vate effort  and  government  commission,  and  governments 
and  churches  have  established  bureaus  on  immigration. 
Aid  associations  maintain  agents  to  safeguard  the  new- 
comer from  exploitation,  both  on  the  journey  and  in  port. 
From  all  these  sources  a  body  of  information  has  been 
gathered  that  throws  light  on  the  causes  and  effects  of 
immigration. 

236.  Causes  and  Effects. — The  primary  cause  is  indus- 
trial.   The  desire  of  the  people  to  improve  their  economic 
and  social  condition  is  the  compelling  motive  that  drives 
them,  in  spite  of  homesickness  and  ignorance,  to  venture 
into  an  unknown  country  and  to  face  dangers  and  difficul- 
ties that  could  not  be  foreseen.    Three  out  of  four  who 
come  are  males,  pioneers  oftentimes  of  a  family  that  looks 
forward  to  a  larger  migration  later  on.     Friends  on  this 
side  encourage  others  and  commonly  supply  the  necessary 
funds.     Eighty  per  cent  of  all  who  come  into  Massachusetts 
make  the  venture  in  hope  of  finding  better  industrial  con- 
ditions or  to  join  relatives  or  friends.     In  some  countries, 
like  Russia,  religious  and  political  oppression  are  expelling 
causes,  and  the  military  service  required  by  the  European 
Powers  drives  young  men  away.    It  has  been  demonstrated 
that  forty  per  cent  of  the  immigration  is  not  permanent, 
but  that  for  various  reasons  individuals  return  for  a  season, 
some  permanently. 

Immigration  has  its  good  and  bad  effects.  There  are 
certain  good  qualities  in  many  of  the  immigrant  strains 
that  are  valuable  to  American  character,  and  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  the  exploitation  of  national  resources  and  the 


228       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

execution  of  public  works  could  not  have  been  accomplished 
so  rapidly  without  the  immigrant.  But  the  bad  effects 
furnish  a  problem  that  is  not  easily  solved.  Immigrants 
come  now  in  such  large  numbers  that  they  tend  to  form 
alien  groups  of  increasing  proportions  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  cities.  There  is  danger  that  the  city  will  become  a 
collection  of  districts — little  Italy,  little  Hungary,  and  little 
Syria — and  the  sense  of  civic  unity  be  destroyed.  Even 
more  significant  is  the  high  birth-rate  of  the  foreigner. 
Statistics  show  that  with  the  greater  birth-rate  of  the  immi- 
grants there  is  a  corresponding  decline  in  the  native  birth- 
rate, so  that  the  alien  is  supplanting  the  native  American 
stock.  Along  with  race  degeneracy  goes  lack  of  industrial 
skill  and  declining  wages,  for  the  foreigner  is  ignorant,  often 
unorganized,  and  willing  to  work  and  live  under  worse 
conditions  than  the  native  American.  Among  the  disas- 
trous social  effects  are  increasing  poverty  and  crime,  lack 
of  sanitation,  and  an  increase  of  diseases  that  thrive  in  filth. 
Illiteracy  and  slow  mentality  lower  the  general  level  of 
intelligence.  Lack  of  training  in  democracy  renders  the 
average  immigrant  a  poor  citizen,  though  some  State  laws 
give  him  the  ballot  without  delay.  In  morals  and  religion 
there  is  more  loss  than  gain  by  immigration.  American 
liberty  tends  to  become  license,  scores  of  thousands  lose  all 
interest  in  the  church,  and  moral  restraint  is  thrown  off 
with  the  ecclesiastical  yoke.  Plainly  when  the  immigrant 
population  is  predominant  in  a  great  city  the  problem  of 
immigration  becomes  vital  not  only  to  the  local  municipality 
but  also  to  the  nation,  which  is  fast  becoming  urban. 

237.  Americanizing  the  Alien. — After  all  is  said,  the 
immigrant  problem  is  not  insoluble.  There  is  much  in  the 
situation  to  make  one  optimistic.  Thus  far  the  native 
stock  has  been  able  to  survive  and  to  give  its  best  to  the 
newcomer.  The  immigrant  himself  has  no  desire  to  de- 
stroy American  institutions.  He  comes  longing  to  share 
in  their  benefits.  America  is  to  him  an  Eldorado,  a  prom- 
ised land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  His  children, 
through  the  schools  and  other  contacts,  learn  the  language 
that  his  tongue  is  slow  to  acquire,  and  absorb  the  ideas  and 


The  Immigrant  229 

ideals  that  are  typically  American.  After  all,  it  is  the 
spirit  rather  than  the  form  of  the  institutions  that  make 
them  valuable.  The  upper-class  American,  who  is  too 
indifferent  to  go  to  the  polls  on  election  day,  is  less  patriotic 
and  more  harmful  to  American  institutions  than  the  Italian 
who  is  too  ignorant  to  vote,  but  would  die  on  the  battle-field 
for  the  defense'of  his  adopted  country.  Many  agencies  are 
at  work  to  help  the  alien  adjust  himself  to  American  ways 
and  to  make  him  into  a  good  citizen.  In  the  last  resort 
the  Americanization  of  the  foreigner  rests  with  the  attitude 
of  the  native  American  toward  him  rather  than  with  the 
immigrant  himself. 

READING  REFERENCES 

Ross :  The  Old  World  in  the  New,  pages  24-304. 
FAIRCHILD:  Immigration,  pages  213-368. 
COMMONS:  Races  and  Immigrants  in  America,  pages  198-238. 
ROBERTS:  The  New  Immigration. 
JENKS  AND  LAUCK:  Immigration. 
WOODS:  Americans  in  Process. 

WILLIS:  "Findings  of  the  Immigration  Commission,"  art.  in  The 
Survey,  25:  571-578. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
HOW  THE  WORKING   PEOPLE  LIVE 

238.  In  Europe. — A  large  proportion  of  the  immigrants 
from  Europe  have  been  peasants  who  have  come  out  of 
rural  villages  to  find  a  home  in  the  barracks  of  American 
cities.     In  the  Old  World  they  have  lived  in  houses  that 
lacked  comfort  and  convenience;  they  have  worked  hard 
through  a  long  day  for  small  returns;  and  a  government 
less  liberal  and  more  burdened  than  the  United  States  has 
mulcted  them  of  much  of  their  small  income  by  heavy 
taxes.    Young  men  have  lost  two  or  three  years  in  com- 
pulsory military  training,  and  their  absence  has  kept  the 
women  in  the  fields.     From  the  barracks  men  often  return 
with  the  stigma  of  disease  upon  them,  which,  added  to  the 
common  social  evils  of  intemperance  and  careless  sex  rela- 
tions, keeps  moral  standards  low.     Thousands  of  them  are 
illiterate,  few  of  them  have  time  for  recreation,  and  those 
who  do  understand  little  of  its  possibilities.     Religion  is 
largely  a  matter  of  inherited  superstition,  and  as  a  superior 
force  in  life  is  quite  lacking.     To  people  of  this  sort  comes 
the  vision  of  a  land  where  government  is  democratic,  mili- 
tary conscription  is  unknown,  wages  are  high,  and  there  is 
unlimited  opportunity  to  get  ahead.     Encouraged  by  agents 
of  interested  parties,  many  a  man  accumulates  or  borrows 
enough  money  to  pay  his  passage  and  to  get  by  the  immi- 
gration officer  on  the  American  side,  and  faces  westward 
with  high  hope  of  bettering  his  condition. 

239.  In  America. — On  the  pier  in  America  he  is  met  by 
a  friend  or  finds  his  way  by  force  of  gravity  into  the  immi- 
grant district  of  the  city.     Usually  unmarried,  he  is  glad 
to  find  a  boarding  place  with  a  compatriot,  who  cheerfully 
admits  him  to  a  share  of  his  small  tenement,  because  he  will 
help  to  pay  the  rent.     With  assistance  he  finds  a  job  and 

230 


How  the  Working  People  Live  231 

within  a  week  regards  himself  as  an  American.  Later  if  it 
seems  worth  while  he  will  take  steps  to  become  a  citizen, 
but  recently  immigrants  are  less  disposed  to  do  this  than 
formerly.  Many  immigrants  do  not  find  their  new  home 
in  the  port  of  landing;  they  are  booked  through  to  interior 
points  or  locate  in  a  manufacturing  town  within  comfortable 
reach  of  the  great  city;  but  they  find  a  place  in  the  midst  of 
conditions  that  are  not  far  different.  Unskilled  Italians 
commonly  join  construction  gangs,  and  for  weeks  at  a  time 
make  their  home  in  a  temporary  shack  which  quickly  be- 
comes unsanitary.  Wherever  the  immigrant  goes  he  tends 
to  form  foreign  colonies  and  to  reproduce  the  low  standards 
of  living  to  which  he  has  been  accustomed.  If  he  could  be 
introduced  to  better  habits  and  surrounded  with  improved 
conditions  from  the  moment  of  his  arrival  he  would  gain 
much  for  himself,  and  far  more  speedily  would  become 
assimilated  into  an  American;  as  it  is,  he  is  introducing 
foreign  elements  on  a  large  scale  into  a  city  life  that  is  over- 
burdened with  problems  already. 

Changes  in  the  manner  of  living  are  often  for  the  worse. 
Instead  of  their  village  houses  set  in  the  midst  of  the  open 
fields  here,  they  herd  like  rabbits  in  overpopulated,  un- 
healthy warrens,  frequently  sleeping  in  rooms  continually 
dark  and  ill-ventilated.  They  still  work  for  long  hours, 
but  here  under  conditions  that  breed  discouragement  and 
disease,  in  the  sweat-shop  or  the  dingy  factory,  and  often 
in  an  occupation  dangerous  to  life  or  limb.  Though  they 
are  free  from  the  temptations  of  the  military  quarters,  they 
find  them  as  numerous  at  the  corner  saloon  and  the  brothel, 
and  even  in  the  overcrowded  tenement  itself.  If  they 
bring  over  their  families  or  marry  here,  they  can  expect  no 
better  home  than  the  tenement,  unless  they  have  the  cour- 
age to  get  out  into  the  country,  away  from  all  that  which 
is  familiar.  Rather  than  do  that  or  knowing  no  better 
way,  they  swarm  with  others  of  their  kind  in  the  immigrant 
hive. 

240.  Tenement  House  Conditions. — In  New  York  large 
tenements  from  five  to  seven  stories  high,  with  three  or 
four  families  on  each  floor,  shelter  many  thousands  of  the 


Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

city's  workers.  These  are  often  built  on  lots  too  small  to 
permit  of  air  and  light  space  between  buildings.  Some  of 
them  contain  over  a  hundred  individuals.  Three-fourths 
of  the  population  of  Manhattan  is  in  dwellings  that  house 
not  less  than  twenty  persons  each.  The  density  of  popu- 
lation is  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  the  acre.  Twelve  to 
eighteen  dollars  a  month  are  charged  for  a  suite  of  four 
rooms,  some  of  them  no  better  than  dark  closets.  In- 
stances can  be  multiplied  where  adults  of  both  sexes  and 
children  are  crowded  into  one  or  two  rooms,  where  they 
cook,  eat,  and  sleep,  and  where  privacy  is  impossible. 
Thousands  of  children  grow  up  unmoral,  if  not  immoral, 
because  their  natural  sense  of  modesty  and  decency  has 
been  blunted  from  childhood.  The  poorest  classes  live  in 
cellars  that  reek  with  disease  germs  of  the  worst  kind,  and 
sanitary  conditions  are  indescribable. 

If  these  conditions  were  confined  to  the  immigrant  popu- 
lation, Americans  might  shrug  their  shoulders  and  dismiss 
the  subject  with  disparaging  remarks  about  the  dirty  for- 
eigner, but  housing  conditions  like  these  are  not  restricted 
to  the  immigrant,  whether  he  be  Jew  or  Gentile.  The 
American  working  man  who  finds  work  in  the  factory  towns 
is  little  better  off.  The  natural  desire  of  landlords  to 
spend  as  little  as  possible  on  their  property,  and  to  get  the 
largest  possible  returns,  makes  it  very  difficult  for  the 
worker  to  find  a  suitable  home  for  his  family  that  he  can 
afford  to  pay  for.  Yet  he  must  live  near  his  work  to  save 
time  and  expense.  Old  and  dilapidated  houses  are  ready 
for  his  occupancy,  but  though  they  are  often  not  so  bad  as 
the  large  tenements,  with  their  more  attractive  exteriors, 
they  are  not  fit  dwellings  for  his  growing  family.  A  flat  in 
a  three-decker  may  be  obtained  at  a  moderate  rental,  but 
such  houses  are  usually  poorly  built,  of  the  flimsiest  inflam- 
mable material,  and  they,  too,  lack  privacy  and  modern 
conveniences. 

241.  Effects  of  these  Conditions. — It  must  not  be  sup- 
posed that  these  evils  have  been  overlooked.  Building 
associations  and  private  philanthropists  have  erected  im- 
proved tenements,  and  have  proved  that  the  right  sort  of 


How  the  Working  People  Live  233 

structures  may  be  made  paying  investments.  State  and 
municipal  governments  have  appointed  commissions  and 
departments  on  housing,  fire  protection  has  been  provided, 
better  sanitary  conditions  have  been  enforced,  and  hope- 
lessly bad  buildings  have  been  destroyed.  But  slums  grow 
faster  than  they  can  be  improved,  and  the  rapidly  growing 
tenement  districts  need  more  drastic  and  comprehensive 
measures  than  have  yet  been  taken.  The  housing  problem 
affects  the  tenant  first  of  all,  and  in  countless  instances  his 
unwholesome  environment  is  ruining  his  health,  ability, 
and  character;  but  it  also  affects  the  community  and  the 
nation,  for  persons  produced  by  such  an  environment  do 
not  make  good  citizens.  The  roots  of  family  life  are  de- 
stroyed, gaunt  poverty  and  loathsome  disease  hold  hands 
along  dark  and  dirty  stairways  and  through  the  halls,  foul 
language  mingles  with  the  foul  air,  and  drunkenness  is  so 
common  as  to  excite  no  remark.  Sexual  impurity  finds  its 
nest  amid  the  darkness  and  ill-endowed  children  swarm  in 
the  streets. 

242.  Possible  Improvements. — There  must  be  some 
way  out  of  these  evil  conditions  that  is  practicable  and  that 
will  be  permanent.  Those  who  are  interested  in  housing 
reform  favor  two  kinds  of  measures — first,  the  prevention 
of  building  in  the  future  the  kind  of  houses  that  have  be- 
come so  common  but  so  unsatisfactory,  and  the  improve- 
ment of  those  already  in  existence;  second,  provision  of 
inexpensive,  attractive,  and  sanitary  dwellings  outside  of 
the  city,  and  cheap  and  rapid  transit  to  and  from  the  places 
of  labor.  Both  of  these  methods  are  practicable  either  by 
-voluntary  association  or  State  action,  and  both  are  called 
for  by  the  social  need  of  the  present.  There  are  definite 
principles  to  be  observed  in  the  redistribution  of  popula- 
tion. The  principle  of  association  calls  for  group  life  in  a 
neighborhood,  and  it  is  as  idle  to  think  that  people  from 
the  slums  can  be  contented  on  isolated  farms  as  it  is  to 
suppose  that  they  can  be  converted  readily  into  prosperous 
American  agriculturists.  Close  connection  with  the  town 
is  indispensable.  The  principle  of  adaptation  demands 
that  the  new  homes  shall  answer  to  the  needs  of  the  people 


234       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

for  whom  they  are  provided,  and  that  the  neighborhood 
shall  be  suited  to  those  needs.  The  houses  will  need  to  be 
enough  better  than  those  in  town  to  offset  the  greater  effort 
of  travel.  The  principle  of  control  demands  that  the  new 
life  of  the  people  be  regulated  as  effectively  as  it  can  be  by 
municipal  authority,  and  if  necessary  that  such  municipal 
authority  be  extended  or  State  authority  be  localized. 
There  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  all  such  enterprises,  but 
social  welfare  requires  improvements  in  the  way  the  work- 
ing people  live. 

It  is  notorious  that  immigrants  and  working  people  gen- 
erally have  larger  families  than  the  well-to-do.  The  chil- 
dren of  the  city  streets  form  a  class  of  future  citizens  that 
deserve  most  careful  attention.  The  problem  of  the  tene- 
ment and  the  flat  is  especially  serious,  because  they  are 
the  factories  of  human  life.  There  the  next  generation  is 
in  the  making,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  quality 
of  the  product  if  conditions  continue  as  they  are.  It  is 
important  to  inquire  how  the  children  live,  what  are  their 
occupations  and  means  of  recreation,  their  moral  incen- 
tives and  temptations,  and  their  opportunities  for  the 
development  of  personality. 

243.  How  the  Children  Live. — The  best  way  to  under- 
stand how  the  children  live  is  to  put  oneself  in  their 
place.  Imagine  waking  in  the  morning  in  a  stuffy,  over- 
crowded room,  eating  a  slice  of  bread  or  an  onion  for  break- 
fast and  looking  forward  to  a  bite  for  lunch  and  an  ill- 
cooked  evening  meal,  or  in  many  cases  starting  out  for  the 
day  without  any  breakfast,  glad  to  leave  the  tenement 
for  the  street,  and  staying  there  throughout  waking  hours, 
when  not  in  school,  using  it  for  playground,  lunch-room, 
and  loafing-place;  and  regarding  it  as  pleasanter  than  home. 
Imagine  going  to  school  half  fed  and  poorly  clothed,  some- 
times the  butt  of  a  playmate's  gibes  because  of  a  drunken 
father  or  a  slatternly  mother,  required  to  study  subjects 
that  make  no  appeal  to  the  child  and  in  a  language  that  is 
not  native,  and  then  back  to  the  street,  perhaps  to  sell 
papers  until  far  into  the  night,  or  to  run  at  the  beck  and 
caU  of  the  public  as  a  messenger  boy.  Many  a  child,  in 


How  the  Working  People  Live  235 

spite  of  the  public  opposition  to  child  labor,  is  put  to  work 
to  help  support  the  family,  and  department  store  and  boot- 
black parlor  are  conspicuous  among  their  places  of  occupa- 
tion. Mills  and  factories  employ  them  for  special  kinds  of 
labor,  and  States  are  lax  in  the  enforcement  of  child-labor 
laws  after  they  are  on  the  statute  books. 

244.  The  Street  Trades. — Employment  in  the  street 
trades  is  very  common  among  the  children  of  the  tene- 
ments.    There  are  numerous  opportunities  to  peddle  fruit 
and  small  wares  at  a  small  wage;  messenger  and  news  boys 
are  always  in  demand,  and  the  bootblacking  industry  ab- 
sorbs many  of  the  immigrant  class.     By  these  means  the 
family  income  is  pieced  out,  sometimes  wholly  provided, 
but  the  ill  effects  of  such  child  labor  are  disturbing  to  the 
peace  of  mind  of  the  well-wishers  of  children.     Street  labor 
works  physical  injury  from  exposure  to  inclement  weather 
and  to  accident,  from  too  great  fatigue,  and  from  irregular 
habits  of  eating  and  sleeping.     It  provokes  resort  to  stimu- 
lants and  sows  the  seeds  of  disease,  vice,  and  petty  crime. 
Moral  deterioration  follows  from  the  bad  habits  formed, 
from  the  encouragement  to  lawbreaking  and  independence 
of  parental  authority,  and  from  the  evil  environment  of 
the  people  and  places  with  which  they  come  into  contact. 
Children  are  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  their  elders,  and 
easily  form  attachments  for  those  who  treat  them  well. 
Saloons  and  disorderly  houses  are  their  patrons,  and  when 
still  young  the  children  learn  to  imitate  those  whom  they 
see  and  hear.     Even  for  the  children  who  do  not  work,  the 
street  has  its  influence  for  evil.     The  street  was  intended 
as  a  means  of  transit,  not  for  trade  or  play,  but  it  is  the 
most  convenient  place  for  games  and  social  enjoyments  of 
all  sorts.     The  little  people  become  familiar  with  profane 
and  obscene  language,  with  quarrelling  and  dishonesty,  and 
even  with  more  serious  crime,  and  no  intellectual  education 
in  the  schoolroom  can  counteract  the  moral  lessons  of  the 
street. 

245.  Playgrounds.— Various    experiments    for   keeping 
children  off  the  street  have  been  proposed  and  tried.     Va- 
cation schools  in  the  summer  provide  interesting  occupa- 


236        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

tions  and  talks  for  those  who  can  be  induced  to  attend; 
their  success  is  assured,  but  they  reach  only  a  small  part 
of  the  children.  Gymnasiums  in  the  winter  attract  others 
of  the  older  class,  but  the  most  useful  experiments  are 
equipped  and  supervised  playgrounds.  For  the  small  chil- 
dren sand  piles  have  met  the  desire  for  occupation,  and  kin- 
dergarten games  have  satisfied  the  instinct  for  association. 
The  primitive  nature  of  the  child  demanded  change,  and 
one  kind  of  game  after  another  was  added  for  those  of 
different  ages.  Swings,  climbing  ladders,  and  poles  are 
always  popular,  and  for  the  older  boys  opportunities  for 
ball  playing,  skating,  and  coasting.  All  these  activities 
must  be  under  control.  The  characteristics  of  children  on 
the  playground  are  the  same  as  those  of  their  elders  in 
society.  Authority  and  instruction  are  as  necessary  as  in 
school;  indeed,  playgrounds  are  a  supplement  to  the  indoor 
education  of  American  children. 

246.  The  City  School. — The  school  is  expected  to  be 
the  foster-mother  of  every  American  child,  whether  native 
or  adopted.  It  is  expected  to  take  the  children  from  the 
avenue  and  the  slum,  those  with  the  best  influences  of 
heredity  and  environment,  and  those  with  the  worst,  those 
who  are  in  good  health  and  those  who  are  never  well,  and 
putting  them  all  through  the  same  intellectual  process,  to 
turn  out  a  finished  product  of  boys  and  girls  qualified  for 
American  citizenship.  It  is  an  unreasonable  expectation, 
and  the  American  school  falls  far  short  of  meeting  its 
responsibility.  It  often  has  to  work  with  the  poorest  kind 
of  material,  sometimes  it  has  to  feed  the  pupil  before  his 
mental  powers  can  get  to  work.  It  has  to  see  that  the 
physical  organs  function  properly  before  it  can  get  satis- 
factory intellectual  results.  The  school  is  the  victim  of  an 
educational  system  that  was  made  to  fit  other  conditions 
than  those  of  the  present-day  city;  the  whole  system  needs 
reconstructing,  but  the  management  is  conservative,  igno- 
rant, or  parsimonious  in  many  cases,  or  too  radical  and  given 
to  fads  and  experiments.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  its  faults  and 
delinquencies,  the  public  schools  of  the  city  are  the  hope 
of  the  future. 


How  the  Working  People  Live  237 

The  school  is  the  melting-pot  of  the  city's  youth.  It  is 
the  training-school  of  municipal  society.  In  the  absence 
of  family  training  it  provides  the  social  education  that  is 
necessary  to  equip  the  child  for  life.  It  accustoms  him  to 
an  orderly  group  life  and  establishes  relations  with  others 
of  similar  age  from  other  streets  or  neighborhoods  than 
those  with  which  he  is  familiar.  It  teaches  him  how  intelli- 
gent public  opinion  is  formed,  and  brings  him  within  the 
circle  of  larger  interests  than  those  with  which  he  is  natu- 
rally connected.  He  learns  how  to  accommodate  himself 
to  the  group  rather  than  to  fight  or  worm  his  way  through 
for  a  desired  end,  as  is  the  method  of  the  street.  He  learns 
good  morals  and  good  manners.  He  finds  out  that  there 
are  better  ways  of  expressing  his  ideas  than  in  the  slang  of 
the  alley,  and  in  time  he  gains  an  understanding  of  a  social 
leadership  that  depends  on  mental  and  moral  superiority 
instead  of  physical  strength  or  agility.  As  he  grows  older 
he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  worth  of  established  insti- 
tutions, and  his  hand  is  no  longer  against  every  man  and 
every  man's  hand  against  him.  He  likes  to  share  in  the 
social  activities  that  occur  as  by-products  of  the  school — 
the  musical  and  dramatic  entertainments,  the  athletic  con- 
tests, and  the  debating  and  oratorical  rivalries.  By  de- 
grees he  becomes  aware  that  he  is  a  responsible  member 
of  society,  that  he  is  an  individual  unit  in  a  great  aggrega- 
tion of  busy  people  doing  the  work  of  the  world,  and  that 
the  school  is  given  him  to  make  it  possible  for  him  to  play 
well  his  part  in  the  activities  of  the  city  and  nation  to 
which  he  belongs. 

READING  REFERENCES 

VEILLER:  Housing  Reform,  pages  3-46. 

RIIS:  How  the  Other  Half  Lives. 

CLOPPER  :  Child  Labor  in  the  City  Streets. 

MARTIN:  "Exhibit  of  Congestion,"  art.  in  The  Survey,  20:  27-39. 

GOODYEAR:  "Household  Budgets  of  the  Poor,"  art.  in  Charities,  16: 

191-197. 

"The  Pittsburgh  Survey,"  arts,  in  The  Survey,  vol.  21. 
LEE:  Constructive  and  Preventive  Philanthropy,  pages  109-184. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
THE  DIVERSIONS  OF  THE  WORKING   PEOPLE 

247.  The  Demand  for  Recreation. — The  natural  in- 
stinct for  recreation  is  felt  by  the  working  people  in  com- 
mon with  persons  of  every  class.  They  cannot  afford  to 
spend  on  the  grand  scale  of  those  who  patronize  the  best 
theatres  and  concerts,  nor  can  they  relax  all  summer  at 
mountains  or  seashore,  or  play  golf  in  the  winter  at  Pine- 
hurst  or  Palm  Beach.  They  get  their  pleasures  in  a  less 
expensive  way  in  the  parks  or  at  the  beach  resorts  in  the 
summer,  and  at  the  "movies,"  dance-halls,  and  cheap 
theatres  hi  the  winter.  They  have  little  money  to  spend, 
but  they  get  more  real  enjoyment  out  of  a  dime  or  a  quarter 
than  thousands  of  dollars  give  to  some  society  buds  and 
millionaires  who  are  surfeited  with  pleasure.  Recreation 
to  the  working  people  is  not  an  occupation  but  a  diversion. 
Their  occupation  is  usually  strenuous  enough  to  furnish  an 
appetite  for  entertainment,  and  they  are  not  particular  as 
to  its  character,  though  the  more  piquant  it  is  the  greater 
is  the  satisfaction.  Craving  for  excitement  and  a  stimulus 
that  will  restore  their  depleted  energies,  they  flock  into  the 
dance-halls  and  the  saloons,  where  they  find  the  temporary 
satisfaction  that  they  wanted,  but  where  they  are  tempted 
to  lose  the  control  that  civilization  has  put  upon  the  primi- 
tive passions  and  to  let  the  primitive  instincts  have  their 
sway. 

It  is  a  prerogative  of  childhood  to  be  active.  If  activity 
is  one  of  the  striking  characteristics  of  all  social  life,  it  is 
especially  so  of  child  life.  The  country  child  has  all  out- 
of-doors  for  the  scope  of  his  energies,  the  city  boy  and  girl 
are  cramped  by  the  tenement  and  the  narrow  street,  with 
occasional  resort  to  a  small  park.  It  requires  ingenuity  to 
devise  methods  of  diversion  in  such  small  areas,  but  neces- 

238 


The  Diversions  of  the  Working  People     239 

sity  is  the  mother  of  invention,  and  the  children  of  the  city 
become  expert  in  outwitting  those  whose  business  it  is  to 
keep  them  within  bounds.  This  kind  of  education  has  a 
smack  of  practicality  in  that  it  sharpens  the  wits  for  the 
struggle  for  existence  that  makes  up  much  of  the  experience 
of  city  folk,  but  it  also  tends  to  develop  a  crookedness  in 
mental  and  moral  habits  through  the  constant  effort  to 
get  ahead  of  the  agents  of  social  control. 

248.  Street  Games. — To  understand  how  the  youth  of 
the  city  get  their  diversions  it  is  well  to  examine  a  cross- 
section  of  city  life  on  Saturday   afternoon  or  Sunday. 
Family  quarters  are  crowded.     Tenements  and  apartments 
have  little  spare  space  inside  or  outside.     Children  find  it 
decidedly  irksome  indoors  and  naturally  gravitate  to  the 
street,  to  the  relief  of  their  elders  and  their  own  satisfac- 
tion.   There  they  quickly  find  associates  and  proceed  to 
give  expression  to  their  restless  spirits.     It  is  the  child's 
nature  to  play,  and  he  uses  all  his  wits  to  find  the  materials 
and  the  room  for  sport.     His  ingenuity  can  adapt  sticks 
and  stones  to  a  variety  of  uses,  but  the  street  makes  a  sorry 
substitute  for  a  ball-field,  and  while  the  girl  may  content 
herself  with  the  sidewalk  and  door-steps,  the  boy  soon 
looks  abroad  for  a  more  satisfying  occupation.     Among  the 
gangs  of  city  boys  no  diversion  is  more  enjoyable  than  the 
game  of  craps,  learned  from  the  Southern  negro.     With  a 
pair  of  dice   purchased  for  a  cent  or  two  at  the  corner 
news-stand  and  a  few  pennies  obtained  by  newspaper  sell- 
ing or  petty  thieving  the  youngster  is  equipped  with  the 
necessary  implements  for  gambling,  and  he  soon  becomes 
adept  hi  cleaning  out  the  pockets  of  the  other  fellows. 

249.  Young  People's  Amusements.— Meantime  the  older 
boys  and  girls  are  seeking  their  diversions.    At  fourteen  or 
fifteen  most  of  them  have  found  work  in  factory  or  store, 
but  evenings  and  Sundays  they,  too,  are  looking  for  diver- 
sion.    The  girls  find  it  attractive  to  walk  the  streets,  while 
the  boys  frequent  the  cheap  pool-room,  where  they  find  a 
chance  to  gamble  and  listen  to  the  tales  of  the  idlers  who 
find  employment  as  cheap  thieves  and  hangers-on  of  im- 
moral houses.     From  these  headquarters  they  sally  forth 


240       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

upon  the  streets  to  find  association  with  the  other  sex,  and 
together  they  give  themselves  up  to  a  few  hours'  entertain- 
ment. A  few  are  contented  to  promenade  the  streets,  but 
amusement  houses  are  cheap,  and  the  "movies"  and  vaude- 
ville shows  attract  the  crowd.  For  a  few  dimes  a  couple 
can  have  a  wide  range  of  choice.  If  the  tonic  of  the  play- 
house is  not  sufficient,  a  small  fee  admits  to  the  public 
dance-hall,  where  it  is  easy  to  meet  new  acquaintances  and 
to  find  a  partner  who  will  go  to  any  length  in  the  mad  hunt 
for  pleasures  that  will  satisfy.  From  the  dance-hall  it  is 
an  easy  path  to  the  saloon  and  the  brothel,  as  it  is  from 
the  game  of  craps  and  the  pool-room  to  the  gambling-den 
and  the  criminal  joint.  It  is  the  lack  of  proper  means  for 
diversion  and  proper  oversight  of  places  of  entertainment 
that  is  increasing  the  vice,  drunkenness,  and  crime  that 
curse  the  lives  of  thousands  and  give  to  the  city  an  evil 
reputation. 

250.  The  Saloon  as  the  Poor  Man's  Club. — The  saloon 
is  an  institution  peculiar  to  America,  but  it  is  the  successor 
of  a  long  line  of  public  drinking  houses.  There  were  cafes 
among  the  ancients,  public  houses  among  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
and  taverns  in  the  colonies.  At  such  places  the  traveller 
or  the  working  man  could  find  social  companionship  along 
with  his  glass  of  wine  or  grog,  and  by  a  natural  evolution 
the  saloon  became  the  poor  man's  club.  It  is  successful 
as  a  place  of  business,  because  it  caters  to  primitive  wants 
and  social  interests  in  considerable  variety.  It  is  a  never- 
failing  source  of  supply  of  the  strong  waters  that  bring  the 
good  cheer  of  intoxication,  and  lull  into  torpid  content  the 
mind  that  wants  to  forget  its  worry  or  its  misery.  It  is  a 
place  where  conventionality  is  laid  aside  and  human  beings 
meet  on  the  common  level  of  convivial  good-fellowship. 
It  is  the  avenue  to  fuller  enjoyment  in  billiard-room,  at 
card-table,  in  dance-hall,  and  in  house  of  assignation,  but 
though  the  door  is  open  to  them  there  is  no  obligation  to 
enter.  It  is  first  aid  to  the  sporting  fraternity,  the  resort 
of  those  who  delight  in  pugilism,  baseball,  and  the  race- 
track, the  dispenser  of  athletic  news  of  all  sorts  that  is 
worth  talking  about.  It  frequently  provides  a  free  lunch, 


The  Diversions  of  the  Working  People     241 

music,  and  games.  It  is  the  agent  of  the  political  boss 
who  mixes  neighborhood  charity  with  the  dispensing  of 
party  jobs.  "The  saloon  is  a  day-school,  a  night-school,  a 
vacation-school,  a  Sunday-school,  a  kindergarten,  a  college, 
a  university,  all  in  one.  It  runs  without  term  ends,  vaca- 
tions, or  holidays.  ...  It  influences  the  thoughts,  morals, 
politics,  social  customs,  and  ideals  of  its  patrons." 

251.  Substitutes  for  the  Saloon. — An  institution  that  fills 
a  place  as  large  as  this  in  the  social  life  of  the  American  city 
must  be  given  careful  consideration,  and  cannot  be  impa- 
tiently dismissed  as  an  unmitigated  social  evil.  The  saloon 
is  unsparingly  denounced  as  the  cause  of  intemperance, 
prostitution,  poverty,  and  crime,  and  much  of  the  charge  is 
a  fair  indictment,  but  it  is  easier  to  condemn  its  abuses  than 
to  find  a  satisfactory  substitute  for  the  social  service  that 
it  performs.  If  the  saloon  must  go,  something  must  be  put 
in  its  place  to  perform  its  helpful  functions.  It  may  have 
to  be  legislated  out  of  existence  in  order  to  check  intem- 
perance, for  the  satisfaction  of  thirst  is  its  principal  attrac- 
tion, and  its  prime  function  is  to  furnish  drink,  but  the 
law  can  be  more  easily  enforced  if  other  social  centres  are 
available  where  the  average  man  can  feel  equally  at  home. 
A  model  saloon  managed  by  church  people  or  labor  union- 
ists has  been  tried,  but  has  failed  to  solve  the  problem. 
The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  on  its  present  basis 
does  not  reach  the  class  of  men  that  frequents  the  saloon. 
Coffee-houses,  reading-rooms,  municipal  gymnasiums,  and 
baths,  may  each  provide  a  small  part,  but  none  of  these 
nor  all  together  fill  the  gap  that  is  left  after  the  saloon  is 
abolished.  Attractive  quarters,  recreational  facilities,  and 
a  spirit  of  democracy  and  freedom  appear  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  any  successful  experiment  in  substitution.  The  pa- 
trons wish  to  be  consulted  as  to  what  they  want  and  what 
they  will  pay  for,  and  unless  the  substitute  is  self-support- 
ing it  is  sure  to  fail.  The  most  promising  experiment  is  an 
athletic  club  maintained  by  regular  dues,  where  there  is 
abundant  room  for  sport'and  conversation,  and  where  it  is 
possible  to  secure  food  at  a  moderate  price  and  to  enjoy 
lively  music  at  the  same  time.  Under  a  reasonable  amount 


242        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  regulation  such  an  establishment  cannot  become  a  public 
nuisance,  and  it  supplies  a  social  need  on  a  sound  economic 
basis. 

252.  Monopoly  Experiments. — It  has  been  proposed  to 
draw  the  virus  of  the  saloon  by  removing  the  element  of 
private  profit  and  placing  the  traffic  under  State  manage- 
ment.    The  South   Carolina  dispensary  system  was  such 
an  attempt.     It  broke  up  the  saloon  as  a  social  centre,  for 
drinking  was  not  allowed  on  the  premises,  but  it  did  not 
stop  the  consumption  of  liquor,  the  profits  went  to  the 
public,  and  the  saloon  element  became  a  vicious  element 
in  politics.     The  Norwegian  or  Gothenburg  system  was 
another  experiment  of  a  similar  sort.     The  liquor  traffic  was 
made  respectable  by  the  government  chartering  a  monop- 
oly company  and  by  putting  business  on  the  basis  not  of 
profit,  but  of  supplying  a  reasonable  demand  of  the  work- 
ing class.     Fifty  years'  trial  has  reduced  consumption  one- 
half,  has  improved  the  character  of  the  saloon,  and  has 
removed  the  immoral  annexes.     The  system  is  not  com- 
pulsory, but  the  people  must  choose  between  it  and  prohi- 
bition.    The  main  objection  raised  against  State  monopoly 
or  charter  is  that  the  government  makes  an  alliance  with 
a  traffic  that  is  injurious  to  society,  and  that  is  contrary  to 
the  fundamental  principle  of  government.    At  best  it  can 
be  regarded  as  only  a  half  measure  toward  the  abolition  of 
the  trade  in  intoxicants. 

253.  The  Seriousness  of  the  Liquor  Problem. — There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  liquor  problem  is  one  of  the  serious 
menaces  to  modern  health,  morals,  and  prosperity.     In- 
temperance is  closely  bound  up  with  the  home,  it  is  a  reg- 
ular accompaniment  of  unchastity,  it  is  both  the  cause  and 
the  result  of  poverty,  it  vitiates  much  charity,  it  is  a  lead- 
ing cause  of  imbecility  and  insanity,  and  a  provocative  of 
crime.     It  stands  squarely  in  the  way  of  social  progress. 
It  is  a  complex  problem.     It  is  first  a  personal  question, 
affecting  primarily  the  drinker;  secondly,  a  social  question, 
affecting  the  family  and  the  community;  thirdly,  an  eco- 
nomic and  political  question,  affecting  society  at   large. 
Consequently  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  not  simple. 


The  Diversions  of  the  Working  People     243 

Different  phases  of  the  problem  demand  a  variety  of 
methods.  Intemperance  may  be  approached  from  the 
standpoint  of  disease  or  immorality.  It  may  be  treated  in 
medical  or  legislative  fashion.  It  may  receive  the  special 
condemnation  of  the  churches.  One  of  the  most  effective 
arguments  against  it  is  on  the  basis  of  economic  waste. 
The  best  statistics  are  incomplete,  but  the  conservative 
estimate  of  a  national  trade  journal  gave  as  the  total  direct 
expense  in  1912,  $1,630,000,000.  This  minimum  figure 
means  eighteen  dollars  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
the  country.  The  indirect  cost  to  society  of  the  wretched- 
ness and  crime  that  result  from  intemperance  is  vastly 
greater.  United  States  internal-revenue  statistics  indicate 
an  increased  consumption  in  all  kinds  of  liquor  between 
1900  and  1910,  although  the  territory  under  prohibition 
was  steadily  enlarging. 

254.  Causes  and  Effects  of  the  Traffic. — The  leading 
causes  of  intemperance  are  the  natural  craving  of  appetite 
and  the  pleasure  of  mild  intoxication,  the  congenial  society 
of  the  saloon  and  the  habit  of  treating,  and  the  presence  of 
the  public  bar  on  the  streets  of  the  poorer  districts  of  the 
city.  The  mere  presence  of  the  saloon  is  a  standing  invi- 
tation to  the  men  and  boys  of  the  neighborhood,  and  it 
grows  to  seem  a  natural  part  of  the  environment.  It  is 
far  more  attractive  than  the  cheerless  tenement  and  the 
tiresome  street.  The  sedative  to  tired  nerves  and  stimu- 
lant for  weary  muscles  is  there;  the  social  customs  of  the 
past  or  of  the  homeland  re-enforce  the  social  instincts  of  the 
present  and  draw  with  the  power  of  a  magnet. 

The  effects  of  intemperance  may  be  classified  as  physical 
losses,  economic  losses,  and  social  losses.  The  immediate 
physical  effect  is  exhilaration,  but  this  is  succeeded  by  las- 
situde and  incompetency.  The  stimulus  gained  is  mo- 
mentary, the  loss  is  permanent.  It  is  well  established  that 
even  small  quantities  of  alcohol  weaken  the  will  power  and 
benumb  the  mental  powers.  Habitual  use  depletes  vitality 
and  so  predisposes  to  disease.  Life-insurance  policies  con- 
sider the  alcoholic  a  poor  risk.  The  economic  effect  is  a 
great  preponderance  of  loss  over  gain.  Somebody  makes 


244       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

money  out  of  the  consumer,  but  it  is  not  the  farmer  who 
produces  the  grain,  the  railroad  company  that  transports  it, 
or  the  government  that  taxes  it;  less  than  formerly  is  it 
the  individual  saloon-keeper,  but  the  brewer  and  distiller 
who  in  increasing  numbers  own  the  local  plant  as  well  as 
manufacture  the  liquor.  Neither  the  nation  that  taxes  the 
manufacture  for  the  sake  of  the  internal  revenue,  nor  the 
city  or  town  that  licenses  the  sale,  gets  enough  to  com- 
pensate for  the  economic  loss  to  society.  Among  the  spe- 
cific losses  to  consumers  are  irregularity  and  cessation  of 
employment,  due  to  the  unreliability  of  the  intemperate 
workman  and  the  consequent  reluctance  of  employers  to 
hire  him — a  reluctance  increased  since  employers  are  made 
liable  to  compensate  workmen  for  accidents;  the  poverty 
and  destitution  of  the  families  of  habitual  drinkers;  and 
the  enormous  waste  of  millions  of  dollars  that,  if  not  thus 
wasted,  might  have  gone  into  the  channels  of  legitimate 
trade.  Finally,  there  is  a  wide-spread  social  effect.  Intem- 
perance ranks  next  to  heredity  as  the  cause  of  insanity. 
One-third  to  one-half  of  the  crime  in  the  country  is  charged 
to  intemperance.  Alcohol  makes  men  quarrelsome,  upsets 
the  brain  balance,  and  introduces  the  user  to  illegal  and 
immoral  practices.  The  saloon  corrupts  politics.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  the  liquor  traffic  controls  two  million 
votes,  and  some  of  it  is  easily  purchasable.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  the  saloon  is  in  close  alliance  with  the 
gambling  interest,  the  white-slave  interest,  the  graft  ele- 
ment, the  political  bosses,  and  the  corrupt  lobbies,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  it  constitutes  a  serious  danger  to  good 
government  throughout  the  nation. 

255.  The  Temperance  Crusade. — Intemperance  has 
grown  to  be  so  wide-spread  and  serious  an  evil  that  a  cru- 
sade against  it  has  gathered  strength  through  the  nine- 
teenth century.  In  colonial  days  the  use  of  liquors  was 
universal  and  excited  little  comment,  but  groups  of  persons 
here  and  there,  especially  the  church  people,  opposed  the 
common  practice  of  tippling  and  began  to  organize  in  order 
to  check  it.  It  was  not  a  total-abstinence  movement  at 
first,  but  was  designed  particularly  to  check  the  use  of 


The  Diversions  of  tht  Working  People     245 

spirituous  liquors.  Temperance  revivals  swept  over  whole 
States,  but  were  too  emotional  to  be  permanent.  When  the 
second  half  of  the  century  began  organization  became  more 
thorough  and  the  Good  Templars  and  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  assumed  the  leadership  of  the  cause. 
These  organizations  stood  for  total  abstinence  and  State 
prohibition,  and  by  temperance  evangelism  and  temper- 
ance education  the  women  especially  pushed  their  cam- 
paign nationally  and  abroad.  Among  all  temperance  agen- 
cies the  Anti-Saloon  League  organized  in  Ohio  in  1893,  and 
extending  through  the  United  States,  has  been  most  effec- 
tive. It  has  federated  existing  agencies  and  enlisted  organ- 
ized religion.  It  has  pushed  no-license  campaigns  in  States 
that  had  an  optional  law,  has  secured  the  extension  of  pro- 
hibition to  scores  of  counties  in  the  South  and  West,  and 
has  extended  the  area  of  State- wide  prohibition,  an  experi- 
ment begun  in  Maine  in  1851,  until  eighteen  States  are 
now  under  a  prohibitory  law  (1915). 

256.  Remedies  for  Intemperance. — There  is  a  general 
agreement  among  people  who  reflect  upon  social  ills  that 
intemperance  is  a  curse  upon  large  numbers  of  individuals 
and  families  through  both  its  direct  and  indirect  effects. 
It  seems  well  established  that  even  moderate  drinking  pro- 
duces physical  and  mental  weakness  and  even  as  a  tempo- 
rary stimulant  is  of  small  value.  It  is  not  so  clear  how  to 
check  the  evil  without  injuring  personal  interests  and  violat- 
ing the  liberty  which  every  citizen  claims  for  himself  as  a 
right.  Three  methods  have  been  proposed  and  tried  as 
remedies  for  intemperance.  The  first  of  these  is  public 
appeal  and  education.  Public  addresses  in  which  argu- 
ments are  presented  and  an  appeal  made  to  the  emotions 
have  led  to  the  signing  of  pledges,  and  sometimes  to  the 
control  of  elections,  but  they  have  to  be  repeated  fre- 
quently to  keep  the  individual  who  is  moved  by  his  im- 
pulses up  to  the  standard.  Slower  is  education  through  the 
press  and  through  the  school,  where  the  evil  effects  of  alco- 
hol are  demonstrated  scientifically,  but  it  has  been  tried 
patiently,  and  there  is  continually  a  large  output  of  tem- 
perance literature. 


246       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

257.  Regulation. — A  second  method  that  has  been  used 
extensively  is  regulation.     It  seems  to  many  persons  that 
the  use  of  liquor  cannot  be  stopped,  and  if  it  is  to  be  manu- 
factured and  sold,  it  is  best  to  regulate  it  by  a  form  of 
license.     In  many  of  the  American  States  the  people  are 
allowed  local  option  and  vote  periodically,  whether  they 
will  permit  the  legal  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicants, 
or  will  attempt  to  prevent  it  for  a  time.    Local  option  has 
kept  a  great  many  towns  and  counties  "dry"  for  years,  and 
it  is  a  step  toward  wide-spread  prohibition.     It  is  regarded 
by  many  as  a  better  method  than  a  State  prohibition  that 
is  ineffective.    Those  who  oppose  all  licensing  on  principle, 
do  so  on  the  ground  that  there  should  be  no  legal  recogni- 
tion of  that  which  is  known  to  be  a  social  evil. 

258.  Prohibition. — Prohibition  is  to  most  temperance 
advocates  the  master  key  that  will  unlock  the  door  to  hap- 
piness and  prosperity.     The  enforcement  of  prohibition  in 
Russia  after  the  European  war  began  in  1914  had  very 
impressive  results  in  the  better  conduct  and  enterprise  of 
the  people.    Where  it  has  been  carried  out  effectively  in 
the  United  States,  the  results  soon  appear  in  diminished 
poverty  and  wretchedness  and  in  a  decrease  of  vice  and 
crime.    The  legitimacy  of  this  method  is  recognized  even 
by  liquor  manufacturers,  and  they  are  willing  to  spend 
millions  of  dollars  to  prevent  national  prohibition,  realizing 
that  though  it  would  not  destroy  their  business  it  would 
greatly  lessen  the  profits.    The  prohibition  policy  has  bit- 
ter enemies  among  some  who  are  not  personally  interested 
in  the  business.    They  think  it  is  too  drastic  and  call  atten- 
tion to  the  sociological  principle  that  prohibitions  are  a 
primitive  method  of  social  control,  but  the  trend  of  public 
opinion  is  strongly  against  them  on  the  ground  that  pro- 
hibitions are  necessary  in  an  imperfect  human  society. 
Government  increases   its   regulation   of   business  of  all 
kinds,  and  the  police  their  regulation  of  individuals.    The 
failure  of  half-way  measures  has  added  to  the  conviction 
that  prohibition  rigidly  enforced  is  likely  to  be  the  only 
effective  method  for  the  solution  of  the  liquor  problem. 


The  Diversions  of  the  Working  People     247 


READING   REFERENCES 

STELZLE:  The  Workingman  and  Social  Problems,  pages  21-50. 
MOORE:  "Social  Value  of  the  Saloon,"  art.  in  American  Journal  of 

Sociology,  3  :  1-12. 
MELENDY:  "The  Saloon  in  Chicago,"  art.  in  American  Journal  of 

Sociology,  6  :  280-306,  433-464. 
CALKINS:  Substitutes  for  the  Saloon. 

Regulation  of  the  Liquor  Traffic  (American  Academy),  pages  1-127. 
PEABODY:  The  Liquor  Problem:  A  Summary. 

GRANT:  "  Children's  Street  Games,"  art.  in  The  Survey,  23  :  232-236. 
PARTRIDGE:  The  Psychology  of  Intemperance,  pages  222-239. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
CRIME  AND  ITS  CURE 

259.  The  Problem  of  Crime. — Habitual  self-indulgence 
is  at  odds  with  the  idea  of  social  control.    The  man  who 
resents  interference  with  his  diversions  and  pleasures  is 
disposed  to  defy  law,  and  if  he  feels  that  society  is  not 
treating  him  properly  he  is  liable  to  become  a  lawbreaker. 
This  is  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  prevalence  of  crime,  which 
on  the  whole  increases  rather  than  diminishes,  and  is  a 
factor  of  disturbance  in  city  life.     Statistics  in  the  United 
States  show  that  in  thirty  years,  from  1880  to  1910,  the 
criminal  population  increased  relative  to  population  by 
one-third.    This  is  only  partly  due  to  immigration,  nor  is 
it  mainly  because  a  large  majority  of  criminals  escape  pun- 
ishment.   Two  facts  are  to  be  kept  constantly  in  mind: 
(i)  Crime  depends  upon  certain  subjective  and  objective 
elements,  and  tends  to  increase  or  decrease  without  much 
regard  to  police  protection.     (2)  As  long  as  there  are  per- 
sons whose  habits  and  character  predispose  them  to  crime, 
as  long  as  there  are  social  inequalities  and  wants  that  pro- 
voke to  criminal  acts,  and  as  long  as  there  are  attractive  or 
easy  victims,  so  long  will  thieving  and  arson,  rape  and 
murder  take  place. 

The  problem  of  crime  is  not  a  simple  one.  The  individual 
and  his  family  and  his  social  environment  are  all  involved 
and  changes  in  economic  conditions  affect  the  amount  of 
crime.  The  task  of  the  social  reformer  is  to  determine  the 
causes  of  crime  and  to  apply  measures  of  reform  and 
prevention.  The  science  of  the  phenomena  of  crime  is 
called  criminology,  that  of  punishment  is  named  penology. 

260.  Its  Causes. — If  there  is  to  be  any  effective  preven- 
tion of  crime  there  is  needed  a  clearer  understanding  of  its 
causes.     Criminologists  are  not  agreed  about  these;  one 

248 


Crime  and  Its  Cure  249 

school  emphasizes  physical  abnormalities  as  characteristic 
of  the  criminal,  another  considers  environment  the  con- 
trolling influence.  The  removal  of  physical  defect  has 
repeatedly  made  an  antisocial  person  normal  in  his  con- 
duct, and  it  seems  plain,  especially  from  the  investigations 
of  European  criminologists,  that  certain  individuals  are 
born  with  a  predisposition  to  crime,  like  the  alcoholic  in- 
heriting a  weak  will,  or  with  insane  or  epileptic  tendencies 
that  may  lead  early  to  criminal  conduct;  but  it  is  not  yet 
proven  that  a  majority  of  offenders  are  hereditary  perverts. 
A  stronger  reason  for  crime  is  the  unsatisfied  desire  or  the 
uncontrolled  impulse  that  drives  a  man  to  take  by  force 
that  to  which  he  has  no  lawful  claim.  This  desire  is 
strengthened  by  the  social  conditions  of  the  present.  In 
all  grades  of  society  there  are  individuals  who  resort  to  all 
sorts  of  means  to  get  money  and  pleasure,  and  those  who 
are  brought  up  without  moral  and  social  training,  and  who 
feel  an  inclination  to  disregard  the  interests  of  others  are 
ready  to  justify  themselves  by  illegal  examples  in  high  life. 
Given  a  tenement  home,  the  streets  for  a  playground,  the 
saloon  as  a  social  centre,  hard,  unpleasant,  and  poorly  paid 
labor,  a  yellow  press,  and  a  prevailing  spirit  of  envy  and 
hatred  for  the  rich,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  manufacture 
any  amount  of  crime. 

261.  Special  Reasons  for  Crime. — Certain  special  cir- 
cumstances have  tended  to  encourage  crime  within  the  last 
few  generations.  The  freedom  and  natural  roughness  of 
frontier  life  gave  an  opportunity  for  lawlessness  and  ap- 
pealed to  those  who  are  scarcely  to  be  reckoned  as  friends 
of  society.  In  the  mining  and  lumber  camps  gambling  and 
drinking  were  common,  and  robbery  and  murder  not  infre- 
quent. The  American  Civil  War,  like  every  war,  stimu- 
lated the  elemental  passions  and  nourished  criminal  ten- 
dencies. Human  life  and  rights  were  cheapened.  The 
brute  in  man  was  evoked  when  it  became  lawful  to  kill  and 
plunder.  The  moral  effects  of  war  are  among  the  most 
lasting  and  the  most  pernicious.  More  recently  the  con- 
ditions of  existence  in  the  cities  have  generated  crime  and 
are  certain  to  continue  to  do  so  as  long  as  slums  exist 


250       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

The  liberty  that  is  characteristic  of  America  easily  be- 
comes license,  especially  if  restraint  has  been  thrown  off 
suddenly,  as  in  the  case  of  the  immigrant,  or  of  the  country 
youth  arriving  in  the  city  for  the  first  time  and  dazzled 
by  the  opportunities  of  his  new  freedom  or  with  a  grudge 
against  society  because  it  has  not  been  hospitable  to  him. 
The  amount  of  crime  is  increased  also  by  the  constant  in- 
crease of  legislation.  The  social  regulations  that  are  nec- 
essary in  the  city  tend  to  become  confused  with  the  more 
serious  violations  of  the  moral  code,  and  because  the  first 
are  frequently  broken  with  impunity  acts  of  crime  seem 
less  iniquitous.  All  these  reasons  help  to  explain  the  in- 
crease of  crime  in  the  cities.  It  is  worth  noticing  that  the 
blame  for  it  is  not  to  be  placed  on  the  immigrant.  In 
spite  of  his  misunderstanding  of  American  law  and  custom, 
his  overcrowding  in  houses  and  streets,  his  ill-treatment 
economically  and  socially,  and  his  common  disappointment 
and  discouragement  because  his  dreams  of  wealth  and 
progress  have  not  materialized,  the  immigrant  as  a  rule  is 
law-abiding  when  sober  and  is  less  responsible  for  crime 
than  the  degenerate  American.  It  is  important  to  remem- 
ber that  there  is  a  constant  inflow  of  undesirable  elements 
of  American  population  into  the  cities,  as  well  as  an  influx 
of  aliens  from  Europe.  The  proletariat  is  not  all  foreign. 

262.  Measures  of  Prevention.— Crime  calls  for  preven- 
tion and  punishment.  Improvements  in  both  are  taking 
place.  Various  methods  of  prevention  are  being  proposed 
and  these  should  be  considered  systematically.  The  first 
step  is  to  prevent  the  reproduction  of  the  bad.  It  has  even 
been  proposed  to  take  away  the  life  of  all  who  are  regarded 
as  hopeless  delinquents.  Less  severe  but  still  radical  is  the 
proposal,  actually  in  practice  in  several  States,  to  sterilize 
such  persons  as  idiots,  rapists,  and  confirmed  criminals. 
The  same  end  demanded  by  eugenics  may  be  accomplished 
by  segregating  in  life  confinement  all  but  the  occasional 
criminals.  A  second  step  is  the  right  training  of  children 
by  the  improvement  of  home  conditions,  to  include  pen- 
sioning the  mother  if  necessary,  that  she  may  hold  the 
family  together  and  bring  the  children  up  properly.  The 


Crime  and  Its  Cure  251 

school  helps  to  train  the  children,  but  industrial  training  is 
needed  to  take  the  place  of  the  street  trades. 

A  third  step  is  provision  for  specific  moral  and  religious 
education.  Many  persons  think  that  however  good  may 
be  the  moral  influence  of  a  school,  there  is  need  of  supple- 
mentary instruction  in  the  home  and  the  church.  In  the 
school  itself  character  study  in  history  and  literature  helps, 
and  attention  to  the  noble  deeds  in  current  life;  the  intro- 
duction of  forms  of  self-government  and  the  study  of  the 
life  and  organization  of  society  are  also  useful;  but  some  way 
should  be  devised  for  the  definite  training  of  children  in 
social  and  moral  principles  that  will  act  as  an  antidote  to 
antisocial  tendencies.  Experiments  have  been  tried  in  the 
affiliation  of  church  and  school,  and  it  has  been  urged  that 
the  State  should  appropriate  money  for  religious  training  in 
the  church,  but  the  objection  is  made  that  such  procedure 
is  contrary  to  the  American  principle  of  the  separation  of 
church  and  state.  The  need  of  such  education  awaits  a 
satisfactory  solution. 

263.  The  Big  Brother  Idea. — The  most  hopeful  method 
of  prevention  is  to  provide  a  friend  for  the  human  being 
who  needs  safeguarding.  Many  a  grown  person  needs  this 
help,  but  especially  the  boy  who  is  often  tempted  to  go 
wrong.  The  Big  Brother  movement,  starting  in  New 
York  in  1905,  befriended  more  than  five  thousand  boys  in 
six  years,  and  branches  were  formed  in  cities  all  over  the 
country.  In  Europe  the  minister  is  often  made  a  proba- 
tion officer  by  the  state,  to  see  that  the  boy  or  youth  keeps 
straight.  In  this  country  through  the  agency  of  court  or 
charitable  society  in  some  cities  each  boy  in  need  has  his 
special  adviser,  as  each  family  has  its  friendly  visitor; 
sometimes  it  is  a  probation  officer,  sometimes  the  judge  of 
a  juvenile  court,  sometimes  only  a  charitably  minded  indi- 
vidual who  loves  boys.  Through  this  friend  work  is  found, 
to  him  difficulties  are  brought  and  intimate  thoughts  con- 
fided, and  the  boy  is  encouraged  to  grow  morally  strong. 
The  immigrant,  whether  boy  or  man,  often  ignorant  and 
stupid,  especially  needs  such  friendly  assistance.  The  Boy 
Scout  movement  may  be  extended,  or  a  substitute  found 


252       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

for  it,  but  some  such  organization  is  needed  for  the  immi- 
grant boy  and  the  native  American  who  is  compelled  to 
rely  on  his  own  resources.  The  fear  of  the  law  is  undoubt- 
edly a  deterrent  from  crime,  but  it  is  inferior  to  the  inspira- 
tion that  comes  from  friendliness. 

264.  Educating  Public  Opinion. — One  of  the  important 
preventives  of  crime  is  work — steady,  well-paid,  and  not 
disagreeable  work,  with  proper  intervals  of  recreation;  added 
to  this  a  social  interest  to  take  the  place  of  the  saloon  and 
the  dance-hall.     With  these  belong  improved  housing,  a 
better  police  system,  and  cleaner  politics.    The  education 
of  public  opinion  will  eventually  lead  to  a  general  demand 
for  all  of  these.    The  press  has  the  great  opportunity  to 
mould  public  opinion,  but  in  its  search  for  news,  especially 
of  a  sensational  character,  it  discusses  crime  in  such  a  way 
as  to  excite  a  morbid  interest  in  its  details,  and  sometimes 
in  its  repetition,  and  the  newspaper  rarely  discusses  mea- 
sures of  crime  prevention.     Many  believe  that  a  large 
responsibility  rests  upon   the   church   to  educate  public 
opinion  with  regard  to  social  obligation.    They  declare 
that  the  people  need  to  be  taught  that  certain  social  con- 
ditions are  turning  out  criminals  as  regularly  as  the  fac- 
tory machine  turns  out  its  particular  product,  and  then 
they  need  to  be  aroused  in  conscience  until  the  will  to  pre- 
vent the  evil  is  fixed.     The  minister,  priest,  or  rabbi  is  sum- 
moned by  the  age  to  be  both  a  prophet  and  a  teacher  of  ways 
and  means  to  a  people  too  often  unheeding  and  careless. 

265.  Theories  of  Punishment. — The  old  theory  of  pun- 
ishment was  that  the  state  must  punish  the  criminal  in 
proportion  to  the  seriousness  of  his  crime,  and  that  the 
penalty  must  be  sufficiently  severe  to  deter  others  from 
similar  crime.    This  primitive  theory  has  been  giving  way 
to  the  new  theory  of  reformation.    This  theory  is  that  the 
object  of  arrest  and  imprisonment  is  not  merely  the  safety 
of  the  public  during  the  criminal's  term  of  imprisonment, 
but  even  more  the  reformation  of  the  guilty  man  that  he 
may  be  turned  into  a  useful  member  of  society.     The 
reformatory  method  has  been  introduced  with  conspicuous 
success  into  a  number  of  the  American  States,  and  is  being 


Crime  and  Its  Cure  253 

extended  until  it  seems  likely  to  supplant  the  old  theory 
altogether. 

266.  Three  Elements  in  the  Method  of  Reformation. — 
The  reformatory  system  includes  three  elements  that  are 
comparatively  new.     The  first  of  these  is  the  indeterminate 
sentence  now  generally  hi  practice  in  the  United  States. 
According  to  this  principle,  the  sentence  of  a  prisoner  is 
not  for  a  fixed  period,  but  maximum  and  minimum  limits 
are  set,  and  the  actual  length  of  imprisonment  is  determined 
by  the  record  the  prisoner  makes  for  himself.     The  second 
element  is  reformatory  discipline.     The  whole  treatment  of 
the  prisoner,  his  assignment  to  labor,  his  participation  in 
mental,  moral,  and  religious  class  exercises,  are  all  designed 
to  stimulate  manhood  and  to  work  a  complete  reformation 
of  character.    The  third  element  is  conditional  liberation, 
or  the  dismissal  of  the  prisoner  on  parole.    According  to 
this  method,  the  prisoner  is  freed  on  probation,  if  his  record 
has  been  good,  before  his  full  term  has  expired,  and  is 
under  obligation  to  report  to  the  probation  officer  at  stated 
intervals  until  his  final  discharge.     If  his  conduct  is  not 
satisfactory  he  can  be  returned  to  prison  at  any  time.    This 
probation  principle  has  been  extended  in  application,  so 
that  most  first  offenders  are  not  sent  to  a  penal  institution 
at  all,  but  are  placed  on  their  good  behavior  under  the 
watchful  eye  of  the  probation  officer.     Experience  with  the 
reformatory  method  shows  that  about  eighty  per  cent  of 
the  cases  turn  out  well.     In  the  sifting  process  of  the 
reformatory  there  are  always  a  few  incorrigibles  who  are 
turned  over  to  the  penitentiary,  and  most  recidivists,  or 
old  offenders,  are  sentenced  there  directly. 

267.  Helping  the  Discharged  Prisoner. — Two  experi- 
ments have  been  tried  to  help  the  discharged  prisoner  and 
to  improve  the  treatment  of  the  juvenile  criminal.     It  is  a 
part  of  the  reformatory  system  to  prepare  the  way  for  a 
prisoner's  return  to  society  by  teaching  him  a  trade  while 
in  confinement,  and  finding  him  a  place  to  work  when  he 
goes  out,  but  under  the  old  system  a  man  was  turned  loose 
from  prison  with  a  small  sum  of  money,  to  redeem  himself, 
when  he  felt  the  timidity  natural  to  an  ex-convict  and  the 


254       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

stigma  of  his  reputation,  and  in  most  cases  took  the  easiest 
road  and  returned  to  crime.  To  aid  him  friendly  societies 
were  organized,  and  even  now  they  prove  necessary  to  get 
a  man  on  his  feet.  The  Volunteer  Prison  League  was 
organized  by  Mrs.  Ballington  Booth  to  help  in  the  reforma- 
tion of  men  in  prison  and  to  aid  them  when  they  return  to 
society,  and  homes  have  been  established  to  give  them 
temporary  refuge.  Through  these  efforts  not  a  few  crimi- 
nals that  seemed  incurable  have  been  reformed. 

268.  The  Juvenile  Court. — The  juvenile  court  is  the 
result  of  the  enlightened  modern  policy  of  dealing  with  the 
criminal.  It  was  the  old  custom  to  conduct  the  trial  of 
the  juvenile  offender  in  the  same  way  as  older  men  were 
tried,  and  to  commit  them  to  the  same  prisons.  They 
soon  became  hardened  criminals  through  their  associations. 
But  experience  proves  that  with  the  right  treatment  a 
majority  of  those  who  fall  into  crime  before  the  age  of  six- 
teen can  be  redeemed  to  normal  social  conduct.  Experi- 
ments with  boys  showed  that  there  was  a  better  way  of 
trial  and  punishment  than  that  which  had  been  in  vogue, 
and  the  juvenile  courts  that  they  devised  have  been  widely 
adopted.  The  new  plan  is  based  on  the  principle  of  mak- 
ing friends  with  the  boy.  Personal  inquiry  into  the  con- 
ditions of  his  life  is  made  before  the  trial,  then  the  judge 
hears  the  case  in  private  conference  with  the  boy,  and 
after  consultation  gives  directions  for  his  future  conduct. 

It  is  plain  that  the  right  principle  of  dealing  with  crime 
is  to  secure  the  reformation  of  the  criminal  and  the  protec- 
tion of  society  with  a  minimum  amount  of  punishment. 
Retaliation  is  no  longer  the  accepted  principle;  reformation 
has  taken  its  place.  Fundamental  to  all  the  rest  is  the 
prevention  of  crime  by  providing  for  the  needs  of  children 
and  youth.  Methods  of  reform  and  reclamation  are  made 
necessary,  because  youthful  impulses  are  not  gratified  in  a 
way  that  would  be  beneficial,  and  habits  are  allowed  to 
develop  that  lead  to  antisocial  practices.  Society  can  pro- 
tect itself  only  by  providing  means  for  comfortable  living, 
suitable  employment,  wholesome  recreation,  and  social  ed- 
ucation. 


Crime  and  Its  Cure  255 


READING  REFERENCES 

HENDERSON:  Cause  and  Cure  of  Crime. 

WINES:  Punishment  and  Reformation,  pages  1-265. 

BARROWS:  Reformatory  System  in  the  United  States,  pages  17-47. 

ELIOT:  The  Juvenile  Court  and  the  Community,  pages  1-185. 

TRAVIS:  The  Young  Malefactor,  pages  100-183. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 
AGENCIES  OF   CONTROL 

269.  Characteristics  of  City  Government. — The  activi- 
ties and  associations  of  such  large  groups  as  the  people  who 
live  in  cities  must  be  under  social  control.     It  is  a  principle 
of  American  life  that  the  individual  be  permitted  to  direct 
his  own  energies  as  long  as  he  does  not  interfere  with  the 
comfort  and  happiness  of  others,  and  in  the  country  there 
is  a  large  measure  of  freedom,  but  in  the  close  contacts  of 
city  life  constraint  has  to  be  in  force.     In  contrast  to  the 
strict  surveillance  that  is  practised  in  certain  countries, 
Americans,  even  in  the  cities,  have  seldom  been  watched 
or  interfered  with.    The  police  have  been  guardians  of 
peace  and  safety  at  street  crossings  and  on  the  sidewalks; 
occasionally  it  has  been  necessary  to  arrest  the  doings  of 
disorderly  persons,  to  the  annoyance  of  convivial  spirits 
and  small  boys,  but  their  functions  as  petty  guardsmen 
have  not  given  police  officers  great  dignity  in  the  eyes  of 
citizens.     City  officials  have  confined  their  efforts  to  the 
routine  affairs  of  their  office,  and  have  so  often  spent  their 
spare  time  and  the  city's  money  freely  for  the  satisfaction 
of  their  personal  interests  that  municipal  government  has 
gained  the  reputation  of  being  notoriously  corrupt,  and 
has  been  left  to  ward  politicians  by  the  better  class  of  citi- 
zens.    Nevertheless,  municipal  government  represents  the 
principle  of  control  and  stands  in  the  background  as  the 
preserver  of  the  interests  of  all  the  people. 

270.  The  Relation  of  the  City  to  the  State.— The  Ameri- 
can city  is  almost  universally  a  creature  of  the  State.    Town 
and  county  government  were  transplanted  from  England 
and  naturally  accompanied  the  settlers  into  the  interior, 
but  the  city  came  as  a  late  artificial  arrangement  for  the 
better  management  of  large  aggregations  of  population,  and 

256 


Agencies  of  Control  257 

the  form  and  details  of  government  were  prescribed  by 
State  charter.  The  State  has  continued  to  be  the  guardian 
of  the  city,  often  to  the  detriment  of  municipal  interests. 
If  a  city  wishes  to  change  the  form  of  local  administration, 
it  must  ask  permission  from  the  State  Legislature,  and 
every  such  question  becomes  entangled  with  State  politics, 
and  so  is  not  likely  to  be  judged  on  the  merits  of  the  ques- 
tion. Indeed,  the  whole  history  of  city  government  con- 
demns the  intense  partisanship  that  has  directed  the  affairs 
of  the  city  in  its  own  interest  when  the  real  interests  of  all 
the  people  irrespective  of  party  should  have  been  cared  for 
with  business  efficiency. 

271.  Functions  of  the  City  Government. — Among  the 
recognized  functions  of  the  city  government  is,  first,  the 
normal  function  of  operation.    This  includes  the  activity 
of  the  various  municipal  departments  like  the  maintenance 
of  streets,  the  prosecution  of  various  public  works,  and  the 
care  of  health  by  inspection  and  sanitation.     Secondly, 
there  are  the  regulative  and  reformatory  functions,  which 
make  it  necessary  to  organize  and  maintain  a  police  and 
judicial  force  and  to  provide  the  necessary  places  of  deten- 
tion and  punishment.    Thirdly,  there  are  educational  and 
recreational  functions  represented  by  schools,  public  libra- 
ries, parks,  and  playgrounds.    The  tendency  is  for  the  city 
government  to  extend  its  functions  in  order  to  promote  the 
various  interests  of  its  citizens.     It  is  demanded  that  the 
city  provide  musical  entertainments,  theatres,  and  athletic 
grounds,  that  it  open  the  schools  as  social  centres  and  equip 
them  for  that  purpose,  that  it  beautify  itself  with  the  most 
approved  adornments  for  twentieth-century  cities;  in  short, 
that  it  regard  itself  as  the  agent  of  every  kind  of  social 
welfare  at  whatever  cost.     Obviously,  this  programme  in- 
volves the  city  in  large  expense,  and  there  is  a  limit  to  the 
taxation  and  bonded  indebtedness  to  which  it  can  resort, 
but  better  financial  management  would  save  much  waste 
and  make  larger  funds  available  for  social  purposes  without 
the  necessity  of  raising  large  additional  sums. 

272.  How  the  Regulative  Function  Works. — Doubtless 
it  will  be  always  true  that  the  regulative  function  in  its 


258       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

largest  sense  will  be  the  main  business  of  the  city  govern- 
ment. The  interests  of  individuals  clash.  The  self-inter- 
est of  one  often  runs  counter  to  the  interests  of  another, 
and  the  city  government  is  their  mediator.  At  every  turn 
one  sees  evidences  of  public  oversight.  The  citizen  leaves 
home  to  go  to  work  in  the  morning.  A  sidewalk  is  pro- 
vided for  his  convenience  and  safety  if  he  needs  or  prefers 
to  walk.  The  abutters  must  keep  it  in  a  safe  condition; 
open  coal  scuttles,  heaps  of  sand  or  gravel,  or  other  ob- 
structions must  not  remain  there,  and  in  winter  ice  must 
not  threaten  hurt.  A  street  is  kept  clear  for  the  citizen's 
carriage  or  automobile  if  he  drives  down- town,  and  a 
franchise  is  given  a  street-railway  on  certain  conditions  to 
provide  cheap  and  rapid  transit.  For  the  convenience  of 
the  public  the  street  is  properly  drained  and  paved,  at 
night  it  is  lighted  and  patrolled.  No  householder  is  per- 
mitted to  throw  ashes  or  garbage  upon  the  public  thorough- 
fare, no  landowner  can  rear  a  building  above  a  certain 
height  to  shut  out  light  and  air.  The  citizen  arrives  down- 
town. The  public  building  in  which  he  works  or  where 
he  trades  is  inspected  by  the  city  authorities,  the  market 
where  he  buys  his  produce  is  subject  to  regulation,  the 
street  hawker  who  calls  his  own  wares  must  procure  a 
license  to  sell  goods — law  is  omnipresent. 

273.  The  Police. — The  offender  who  violates  city  ordi- 
nances must  expect  to  be  arrested.  Policemen  are  on  the 
watch  to  detect  such  violations  and  promptly  give  warning 
that  they  cannot  be  permitted.  Repeated  violation  leads 
to  arrest  and  trial  before  a  police-court  justice,  with  the 
probable  penalty  of  a  fine  or  temporary  detention  in  jail. 
In  case  of  serious  crime,  the  trial  is  before  a  higher  court, 
and  the  punishment  is  more  severe.  Such  control  is  neces- 
sary for  the  preservation  of  order  because  there  are  always 
social  delinquents  ready  to  take  advantage  of  too  great 
freedom.  A  certain  class  of  offenses  seems  to  require  dif- 
ferent handling.  Moral  obliquity  such  as  the  maintenance 
of  disorderly  houses  is  a  corrupting  influence,  and  the  police 
departments  of  cities  have  frequently  been  charged  with 
conniving  at  immoral  practices.  Police  officials  have  been 


Agencies  of  Control  259 

found  to  have  their  price,  and  graft  has  become  notorious. 
For  this  reason  a  special  morals  police  has  been  proposed  to 
have  charge  of  such  cases,  and  experiments  have  been  tried 
already  on  that  plan. 

274.  Organization  of  the  City  Government. — (i)  In 
America.  The  police  department  is  but  one  of  several 
boards  or  official  departments  for  the  management  of 
municipal  affairs.  The  administrative  officers  are  ap- 
pointed or  elected,  and  are  usually  under  the  supervision 
of  the  city  executive.  The  usual  form  of  city  government 
is  modelled  upon  the  State;  a  mayor  corresponds  to  the 
governor  and  a  city  council  of  one  or  two  chambers  usually 
elected  by  wards  is  parallel  to  the  State  Legislature.  The 
mayor  is  the  executive  officer  and  the  head  of  the  adminis- 
trative system,  the  council  assists  or  obstructs  him,  appro- 
priates funds,  and  attends  to  the  details  of  municipal  legis- 
lation. Political  considerations  rather  than  fitness  for  office 
have  usually  determined  the  choice  of  persons  for  positions. 

(2)  In  Europe.  In  Europe  municipal  government  is 
treated  as  a  business  or  professional  matter,  not  one  of  poli- 
tics, and  the  results  have  been  so  much  more  satisfactory 
that  American  cities  have  begun  to  reform  their  govern- 
ments. In  England  cities  are  governed  according  to  the 
Local  Government  Act  of  1888,  by  which  cities  of  more 
than  fifty  thousand  people  become  counties  for  administra- 
tive purposes,  and  control  of  administration  is  vested  in  a 
council  elected  by  voters  of  the  city.  Councillors  are 
regarded  with  high  honor,  but  their  work  is  a  work  of 
patriotism,  for  they  are  unpaid,  with  the  result  that  the 
best  men  enter  the  city  councils.  Administration  is  car- 
ried on  through  various  committees  and  through  depart- 
ment officials  who  are  retained  permanently.  In  Germany 
the  cities  are  managed  like  large  households,  and  their 
officials  are  free  to  undertake  improvements  without  spe- 
cific legislative  permission.  The  mayor  or  burgomaster  is 
usually  one  who  makes  a  profession  of  magistracy,  and  he 
need  not  be  a  citizen  of  the  city  that  he  serves.  In  admin- 
istration he  is  assisted  by  a  board  of  experts  known  as 
magistrates,  who  are  elected  by  the  council,  usually  for  life. 


260       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

The  council  is  the  real  governing  body,  and  its  members  are 
elected  by  the  people  for  six  years,  one-third  of  them  retir- 
ing periodically,  as  in  the  United  States  Senate.  The  ac- 
tivities of  the  German  cities  are  more  numerous  than  in 
this  country,  yet  they  are  managed  economically  and  effi- 
ciently. 

275.  Organizing  Municipal  Reform. — The  earliest  re- 
form movements  in  the  United  States  were  spasmodic 
uprisings  of  outraged  citizens  who  were  convinced  of  the 
corruption  of  city  government.    Among  the  pioneers  in 
organization  were  leagues  of  reform  in  Chicago,  Baltimore, 
and  Boston,  organized  between  1874  and  1885.     In  1887 
the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting  Good  Citizenship 
was  formed.     The  weakness  of  the  early  movements  was 
the  temporary  enthusiasm  that  soon  died  away  after  a 
victory  for  reform  was  gained  at  the  polls ;  within  a  short 
time  the  grafters  were  in  the  saddle  again.    The  year  1892 
marked  an  epoch,  for  in  that  year  the  first  City  Club  was 
organized  in  New  York,  followed  by  Good  Government 
Clubs  in  many  cities,  and  finally  by  the  National  Municipal 
League  in  1894.     Two  hundred  reform  leagues  in  the  larger 
cities  united  in  the  National  Reform  League,  with  its  cen- 
tre in  Philadelphia.    After  1905  a  new  impetus  was  given 
to  civic  reform  by  the  new  moral  emphasis  in  business  and 
politics.     Better   officials   were   elected   and   others   were 
reminded  that  they  were  responsible  to  the  people  more 
than  to  the  political  machine.     An  extension  of  reform 
effort  through  direct  primary  nominations  came  into  vogue 
on  the  principle  that  government  ought  to  be  by  the  people 
themselves:  that  democracy  means  self-control.     The  ex- 
tension of  municipal  ownership  was  widely  discussed  on  the 
principle  that  the  people's  interests  demanded  the  better 
control  of  public  utilities.     There  was  apparent  a  new 
recognition  that  the  city  government  was  only  an  agent 
of  popular  control,  not  an  irresponsible  bureau  for  the 
enrichment  of  a  few  officials  at  the  public  expense. 

276.  Commission  Government. — In  a  number  of  cases 
radical  changes  were  made  in  the  charter  of  the  city.     Gal- 
veston  and  several  other  Texas  cities  tried  the  experiment 


Agencies  of  Control  261 

of  substituting  a  commission  for  the  mayor  and  council. 
The  Galveston  idea  originated  in  1901,  after  a  hurricane 
had  devastated  the  city,  and  the  mayor  and  aldermen 
proved  unable  to  cope  with  the  situation.  Upon  request 
of  an  existing  civic  committee  the  State  legislature  gave  to 
the  city  a  new  charter,  with  provision  for  a  commission  of 
five,  including  a  mayor  who  ordinarily  has  no  more  power 
than  any  other  commissioner.  Each  man  was  to  manage 
a  department  and  receive  a  salary.  In  four  years  the  com- 
mission saved  the  city  a  million  dollars.  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
added  to  the  Galveston  plan  the  initiative,  the  referendum, 
and  the  recall,  put  in  force  a  merit  system  for  subordinate 
officials,  and  adopted  the  non-partisan  open  primary. 
These  experiments  proved  so  popular  that  in  1908-9  not 
less  than  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  cities,  including 
most  of  the  large  ones,  proposed  to  make  important  changes 
in  their  charters,  adopting  the  most  prominent  features  of 
the  new  plan,  or  adapting  the  new  to  the  old  system. 

Commission  government  has  been  defined  as  "that  form 
of  city  government  in  which  a  small  board,  elected  at  large, 
exercises  substantially  the  entire  municipal  authority,  each 
member  being  assigned  as  head  of  a  rather  definite  division 
of  the  administrative  work;  the  commission  being  subject 
to  one  or  more  means  of  direct  popular  control,  such  as 
publicity  of  proceedings,  recall,  referendum,  initiative,  and 
a  non-partisan  ballot."  Commission  government  is  less 
cumbersome  and  less  partisan  than  the  old  system  and 
tends  to  be  more  efficient,  but  the  public  needs  to  remember 
that  it  is  the  men  in  office  and  not  the  form  of  government 
that  make  the  control  of  municipal  affairs  a  success  or 
failure.  In  a  few  cases  only  disappointment  has  resulted 
from  the  changes  made,  and  commission  government  is 
still  in  its  experimental  stage. 

277.  The  City  Manager. — A  modification  of  the  com- 
mission plan  was  tried  in  several  cities  of  the  South  and 
Middle  West  in  1913-14.  This  has  been  called  the  city- 
manager  plan.  It  is  founded  on  the  belief  that  the  city 
needs  business  administration,  and  that  a  board  of  directors 
is  not  so  efficient  as  a  single  manager  employed  by  the  com- 


262        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

mission,  who  shall  have  charge  of  all  departments,  appoint 
department  heads  as  his  subordinates,  and  thus  unify  the 
whole  administration  of  municipal  affairs.  The  manager  is 
responsible  to  the  commission,  and  through  it  to  the  people, 
and  may  be  removed  by  the  commission,  or  even  by  popu- 
lar recall.  Such  a  plan  as  this  is,  of  course,  liable  to  abuse, 
unless  the  commissioners  are  high-minded,  conscientious 
men,  and  it  has  not  been  tried  long  enough  to  prove  its 
worth.  The  best  element  in  the  whole  history  of  recent 
municipal  changes  is  the  earnest  effort  of  the  people  to  find 
a  form  of  administrative  control  that  will  work  well,  and 
this  gives  ground  for  belief  that  the  experiments  will  con- 
tinue until  the  American  city  will  cease  to  be  notorious  for 
misgovernment  and  become,  instead,  a  model  for  the  whole 
nation. 

READING  REFERENCES 

Commission  Government  and  the  City  Manager  Plan  (American 
Academy),  pages  3-11,  103-109,  171-179,  183-201. 

GOODNOW:  City  Government  in  the  United  States,  pages  69-108. 

BRYCE:  The  American  Commonwealth  (abridged  edition),  pages 
417-427. 

SHAW:  Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe,  pages  1-145. 

ZUEBLIN:  American  Municipal  Progress  (revised  edition),  pages 


CHAPTER  XXXV 
DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE   PEOPLE  WHO  WORK 

278.  The  Fact  of  Misery. — A  brief  study  of  the  condi- 
tions in  which  a  city's  toilers  live  and  work  and  play  makes 
it  plain  that  the  people  have  to  contend  with  numerous 
difficulties.     Large  numbers  of  them  are  in  misery,  and 
there  are  few  who  are  not  living  hi  constant  fear  of  it. 
To  a  foreigner  who  did  not  understand  America,  it  would 
seem  incredible  that  misery  should  be  prevalent  in  the 
midst  of  wealth  and  unbounded  natural  resources,  when 
mines  and  factories  are  making  record-breaking  outputs, 
when  harbors  are  thronged  with  ships  and  the  call  for 
workers  goes  across  the  sea.     But  no  one  who  visits  the 
tenements  and  alleys  of  the  city  fails  to  find  abundant 
evidence  of  misery  and  want.     People  do  not  lr<re  in  dark 
rooms  and  dirty  surroundings  from  choice,  sometimes  as 
many  as  two  thousand  in  a  single  block.     They  do  not 
willingly  pay  a  large  percentage  of  their  earnings  in  rent 
for  a  tenement  that  breeds  fever  and  tuberculosis.    They 
do  not  feed  their  babies  on  impure  milk  and  permit  their 
children  to  forage  among  the  garbage  cans  because  they 
care  nothing  for  their  young.     They  do  not  shiver  without 
heat  or  lose  vitality  for  lack  of  food  until  they  have  strug- 
gled for  a  comfortable  existence  to  the  point  of  exhaustion. 
Misery  is  here  as  it  is  in  the  Old  World  cities,  and  it  leads 
to  weakness  and  disease,  drunkenness,  vice,  and  crime. 

279.  Easy  Explanations. — It  is  impossible  to  unravel 
completely  the  skein  of  difficulties  in  which  the  people  are 
enmeshed,  or  to  simplify  the  causes  of  the  tangle.     It  is 
easy  to  blame  a  person's  wretchedness  on  his  individual 
misconduct  and  incompetency,  to  say,  for  example,  that  a 
man's  family  is  sick  and  poor  because  he  is  intemperate. 
There  might  be  truth  in  the  charge,  but  it  would  probably 

263 


264        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

not  be  the  whole  truth.  It  is  easy  to  go  back  of  the  cir- 
cumstance to  the  weak  will  of  the  man  that  made  him  a 
prey  to  impulse  and  appetite  and  kept  him  primitive  in 
his  habits,  but  that  alone  would  not  explain  conditions. 
It  is  easy  to  charge  misery  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  woman 
in  the  home  who  is  wasteful  of  food  and  does  not  know  how 
to  provide  for  her  family,  or  to  charge  lack  of  common 
sense  to  the  home-makers  when  they  try  to  raise  six  chil- 
dren on  an  income  that  is  not  enough  for  two.  It  is  very 
common  to  lay  all  misery  at  the  door  of  the  capitalist  who 
underpays  labor  and  feels  no  responsibility  for  the  life  con- 
ditions of  his  employee.  No  one  of  these  explains  the 
presence  of  misery. 

It  is  easy  to  propose  to  society  a  simple  remedy  like 
better  housing,  prohibition,  or  socialism,  when  the  only 
correct  diagnosis  of  conditions  demands  a  prolonged  and 
expensive  course  of  treatment  that  involves  surgical  action 
in  the  social  body.  It  is  easy  to  raise  money  for  charity, 
to  endow  hospitals,  and  to  talk  about  made-to-order 
schemes  for  ending  unemployment,  poverty,  and  panic,  but 
it  is  soon  discovered  that  there  is  no  panacea  for  the  evils 
that  infest  society.  Back  of  all  personal  misconduct  or 
misfortune,  of  all  social  specific  or  cure-all,  is  the  funda- 
mental difficulty  that  misery  exists,  that  its  causes  are 
complex,  and  that  all  efforts  to  provide  efficient  relief  on 
a  large  scale  have  failed,  as  far  as  history  records. 

280.  Poverty  and  Its  Extent. — Misery  appears  com- 
monly in  the  form  of  sickness,  vice,  and  poverty.  One  of 
these  reacts  upon  another,  and  is  both  the  cause  and  the 
result  of  another.  Mental  and  moral  incapacity,  ignorance 
of  hygiene,  weakness  of  will,  habits  that  seem  incurable,  all 
of  these  produce  the  first  two  in  a  seemingly  hopeless  way; 
poverty  appears  to  be  incurable  above  the  rest.  It  is  pov- 
erty that  prevents  fortifying  the  will  by  increasing  physical 
stamina  and  moral  courage,  it  is  poverty  that  drives  a  man 
to  drink  or  desperation,  and  it  is  poverty  that  prescribes  the 
unfavorable  surroundings  that  do  so  much  to  keep  a  man 
down.  Poverty  is  a  danger  flag  that  indicates  the  proba- 
bility of  deeper  degradation  and  calls  for  the  individual  or 


Difficulties  of  the  People  Who  Work       265 

group  that  is  better  off  to  lend  a  hand.  Poverty  is  a  goad, 
a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  society,  that  is  pushing  it  along  the 
road  of  social  reform.  Private  philanthropy,  legislative 
enactment,  and  much  talking  are  being  tried  as  experi- 
ments to  find  a  solution  of  the  difficulty,  but  theorists  and 
practitioners  are  not  yet  in  full  agreement  as  to  the  way  out. 

There  are,  of  course,  different  degrees  of  poverty,  ranging 
from  the  helpless  incompetents  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale 
to  those  who  are  in  a  fair  degree  of  comfort,  but  who  have 
so  little  laid  aside  for  a  rainy  day  that  they  live  in  constant 
fear  of  the  poorhouse.  Some  struggle  harder  than  others, 
and  maintain  an  existence  on  or  just  above  the  poverty 
line — these  are  technically  the  poor.  Charles  Booth  defines 
the  poor  as  those  "living  in  a  state  of  struggle  to  obtain 
the  necessaries  of  life."  A  few  cease  to  struggle  at  all  and, 
if  they  continue  to  live,  manage  it  only  by  living  on  per- 
manent charity — these  are  the  paupers.  This  is  a  distinc- 
tion that  is  carefully  made  by  sociologists  and  is  always 
convenient. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  extent  of  poverty  with  any 
accuracy,  but  a  few  estimates  of  skilled  observers  indicate 
its  wide  extent.  Charles  Booth  thought  that  thirty  per 
cent  of  the  people  of  London  were  on  or  below  the  poverty 
line.  Robert  Hunter  has  declared  that  in  1899  eighteen 
per  cent  of  the  people  in  New  York  State  received  aid,  and 
that  ten  per  cent  of  those  who  died  in  Manhattan  received 
pauper  burial.  Alongside  these  statements  are  the  various 
estimates  of  80,000  persons  in  almshouses  in  the  United 
States,  3,000,000  receiving  public  or  private  aid,  with  a 
total  annual  expense  of  $200,000,000.  The  number  of 
those  who  have  small  resources  in  reserve  are  many  times 
as  great,  but  industrious,  frugal,  and  self-respecting,  they 
manage  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

281.  Causes  of  Poverty. — It  is  still  more  difficult  to 
speak  exactly  of  the  relative  importance  of  the  causes  of 
poverty.  Investigation  of  hundreds  of  cases  in  certain 
localities  makes  it  plain  that  poverty  comes  through  a  com- 
bination of  several  factors,  including  personal  incompetence 
or  misconduct,  misfortune,  and  the  effects  of  environment. 


266        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

In  Boston  out  of  one  thousand  cases  investigated  twenty- 
five  years  ago  (1890-91),  twenty  per  cent  was  due  to  drink, 
a  figure  nearly  twice  as  much  as  the  average  found  in  other 
large  cities;  nine  per  cent  more  was  due  to  such  misconduct 
as  shiftlessness,  crime,  and  ^vagrancy;  while  seventy  per 
cent  was  owing  to  misfortune,  including  defective  employ- 
ment and  sickness  or  death  in  the  family.  Five  thousand 
families  investigated  at  another  time  in  New  York  City 
showed  that  physical  disability  was  present  in  three  out  of 
four  families,  and  unemployment  was  responsible  in  two 
out  of  three  cases.  In  nearly  half  the  families  there  was 
found  defect  of  character,  and  in  a  third  of  the  cases  there 
was  widowhood  or  desertion  or  overcrowding.  Added  to 
these  were  old-age  incapacity,  large  families,  and  ill  adjust- 
ment to  environment  due  to  recent  arrival  in  the  city. 

Taking  these  as  fair  samples,  it  is  proper  to  conclude  that 
the  causes  commonly  to  be  assigned  to  poverty  are  both 
subjective  and  objective,  or  individual  and  social.  It  was 
formerly  customary  to  throw  most  of  the  blame  on  the 
poor  themselves,  to  charge  them  with  being  lazy,  intem- 
perate, vicious,  and  generally  incompetent,  and  it  is  useless 
to  deny  that  these  appear  to  be  the  direct  causes  in  great 
numbers  of  instances,  but  as  much  of  the  negro  and  poor 
white  trash  in  the  South  was  found  to  be  due  to  hookworm 
infection,  so  very  many  of  the  faults  of  the  shiftless  poor 
in  the  cities  are  due  more  indirectly  to  lack  of  nourishment, 
of  education,  and  of  courage.  Over  and  over  again,  it  may 
be,  has  the  worker  tried  to  get  on  better,  only  to  get  sick 
or  lose  his  job  just  as  he  was  improving  his  lot.  The  ten- 
dency of  opinion  is  in  the  direction  of  putting  the  chief 
blame  upon  the  disposition  of  the  employer  to  exploit  the 
worker,  and  the  indifference  of  society  to  such  exploitation; 
it  is  the  discouraging  conditions  in  which  the  working  man 
lives,  the  uncertainty  of  employment  and  the  high  cost  of 
living,  the  danger  of  accident  and  disease  that  constantly 
hangs  over  the  laborer  and  his  family,  that  devitalizes  and 
disheartens  him,  and  casts  him  before  he  is  old  on  the  social 
scrap  heap. 

Summing  up,  it  is  convenient  to  classify  the  causes  of 


Difficulties  of  the  People  Who  Work       267 

poverty  as  individual  and  social,  including  under  the  first 
head  ignorance,  inefficiency,  illness  or  accident,  intemper- 
ance, and  immorality,  and  under  the  second  unemploy- 
ment, widowhood,  or  desertion,  overcrowding  and  insani- 
tation,  the  high  cost  of  living  versus  low  wages,  and  lack 
of  adjustment  to  environment. 

Poverty  is  one  of  those  social  conditions  that  appear  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  even  in  the  smaller  villages,  but  it  is 
more  dreadful  and  wide-spread  in  the  great  cities.  In 
smaller  communities  the  cases  are  few  and  can  be  taken 
care  of  without  great  difficulty;  to  the  larger  centres  have 
drifted  the  poor  from  the  rural  regions,  and  there  congre- 
gate the  immigrants  who  have  failed  to  make  good,  until  in 
large  numbers  they  drain  the  vitals  of  the  city's  strength. 
Yet  the  problem  of  poverty  is  not  new.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  find  any  ancient  city  that  did  not  have  its  rabble  or 
mediaeval  village  without  its  "ne'er-do-weel";  and  in  every 
period  church  or  state  or  feudal  group  has  taken  its  turn 
in  providing  relief.  In  recent  years  the  principle  of  bestow- 
ing charity  has  been  giving  way  to  the  principle  of  destroy- 
ing poverty  at  the  roots  by  removing  the  causes  that  pro- 
duce it.  This  is  no  easy  task,  but  experience  has  shown 
that  it  is  the  only  effective  way  to  get  rid  of  the  difficulty. 

282.  Proposed  Methods  of  Solution. — The  solution  of 
the  problem  of  poverty  cannot  be  found  in  charity.  Prop- 
erly administered  charity  is  a  helpful  means  of  temporary 
relief,  but  if  it  becomes  permanent  it  pauperizes.  It  never 
will  cure  poverty.  In  spite  of  all  charity  organization, 
poverty  increases  as  the  cities  grow,  until  it  is  clear  that 
the  causes  must  be  removed  if  there  is  to  be  any  hope  of 
permanent  relief.  A  better  education  is  proposed  as  an 
offset  to  ignorance.  Women  need  instruction  in  cooking, 
home  making,  and  the  care  of  children,  for  girls  graduating 
from  a  machine  or  the  counter  of  a  department  store  into 
matrimony  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  know  much 
about  housekeeping.  Such  evils  as  divorce,  desertion,  in- 
temperance, and  poverty  are  due  repeatedly  to  failure  to 
make  a  home.  Proper  hygienic  habits,  care  of  sanitation, 
simple  precautions  against  colds,  coughs,  and  tuberculosis, 


268       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

make  a  great  difference  in  the  amount  of  misery.  It  is  a 
question  worth  considering  whether  the  home  end  of  the 
poverty  problem  is  not  a's  important  as  the  employment 
end.  For  the  man's  ignorance  and  inefficiency  it  is  pro- 
posed that  the  vocational  education  of  boys  be  widely 
extended. 

The  social  causes  of  poverty  lead  into  other  departments 
of  sociological  study,  like  the  industrial  problem,  and  it  is 
useless  to  talk  about  a  cure  for  poverty  as  an  isolated 
phenomenon,  yet  there  are  certain  principles  that  are  nec- 
essarily involved.  The  whole  subject  of  the  poor  needs 
thorough  study.  Organizations  like  the  charity  societies 
already  have  much  data.  The  Russell  Sage  Foundation 
in  New  York  City  is  making  invaluable  contributions  to 
public  knowledge.  The  reports  of  the  national  and  State 
bureaus  of  labor  contain  a  vast  amount  of  statistical  in- 
formation. All  this  needs  digestion.  Then  on  the  basis  of 
investigation  and  digestion  of  information  comes  prompt 
and  intelligent  legislation  for  the  amelioration  of  poverty, 
until  the  most  shameful  conditions  in  employment  and 
housing  are  made  impossible.  Only  persistent  legislation 
and  enforcement  of  law  can  make  greedy  landlords  and 
capitalists  do  the  right  thing  by  the  poor,  until  all  society 
is  spiritualized  by  the  new  social  gospel  of  mutual  considera- 
tion and  educated  to  apply  it  to  community  life. 

283 .  Pauperism. — Pauperism  is  poverty  become  chronic. 
When  a  family  has  been  hopelessly  dependent  so  long  that 
self-respect  and  initiative  are  wholly  gone,  it  seems  useless 
to  attempt  to  galvanize  it  into  activity  or  respectability, 
and  when  a  group  of  such  families  pauperizes  a  neighbor- 
hood, heroic  measures  become  necessary.  The  families 
must  be  broken  up,  their  members  placed  in  institutions 
where  they  cannot  remain  sodden  in  drink  or  become  violent 
in  crime,  and  the  neighborhood  cleansed  of  its  human  debris. 
Pauperism  is  a  social  pest,  and  it  must  be  rooted  out  like 
any  other  pest.  If  it  is  allowed  to  remain  it  festers;  noth- 
ing short  of  eradication  will  suffice.  But  when  once  it  is 
destroyed  living  conditions  must  be  so  reformed  that  pau- 
perism will  not  recur,  and  thpt  can  be  only  by  constant 


Difficulties  of  the  People  Who  Work       269 

vigilance  to  prevent  a  continuance  of  poverty.  The  prob- 
lem is  one,  and  its  solution  must  involve  both  poverty  and 
pauperism. 

284.  Unemployment. — One  of  the  causes  of  wide-spread 
poverty  is  unemployment.  This  is  due  sometimes  to  phys- 
ical weakness  or  lack  of  ability  or  character,  but  as  often 
to  industrial  depression  or  lack  of  adjustment  between  the 
labor  supply  and  the  employer.  There  is  always  an  army 
of  the  unemployed,  and  it  has  increased  so  greatly  through 
immigration  and  otherwise  that  it  has  demanded  the  seri- 
ous attention  of  sociologists  and  legislators.  Charitable 
organizations  have  given  relief,  but  it  is  not  properly  a 
question  of  charity;  private  agencies  have  made  a  business 
of  bringing  together  the  employer  and  the  employee,  but 
not  always  treating  fairly  the  employee;  permanent  free 
labor  exchanges  are  now  being  tried  by  governments. 

The  National  Conference  on  Unemployment,  meeting  in 
1914,  recommended  three  constructive  proposals,  which  in- 
clude most  of  the  experiments  already  tried  in  Europe  and 
America.  These  are  first  the  regularizing  of  business  by 
putting  it  on  a  year-round  basis  instead  of  seasonal;  second, 
the  organization  of  a  system  of  labor  exchanges,  local  and 
State,  to  be  supervised  and  co-ordinated  by  a  national 
exchange;  and  third,  a  national  insurance  system  for  the 
unemployed,  such  as  has  been  inaugurated  successfully  in 
Germany  and  Great  Britain. 

The  problem  of  unemployment  is  less  complicated  than 
many  social  problems,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  through  careful  legislation  and  administration  it  can 
be  largely  removed.  The  problem  of  those  who  are  unable 
to  work  or  unwilling  to  work  is  solved  by  means  of  public 
institutions.  The  whole  problem  of  poverty  awaits  only 
intelligent,  energetic,  and  united  action  for  its  successful 
solution. 


270       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

DEVINE:  Misery  and  Its  Causes,  pages  3-50. 

HUNTER:  Poverty,  pages  66-105,  3I8~34O. 

HENDERSON:  Dependents,  Defectives,  and  Delinquents,  second  edition, 

pages  12-97,  160-209. 

CARLTON:  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor,  pages  431-445. 
MARTIN:  "Remedy  for  Unemployment,"  art.  in  The  Survey,  22  : 

115-117. 
BOOTH:  Pauperism. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 
CHARITY  AND   THE   SETTLEMENTS 

285.  The  Impulse  to  Charity. — The  first  impulse  that 
stirs. a  person  who  sees  another  in  want  is  immediately  to 
relieve  the  want.     This  impulse  to  charity  makes  public 
begging  profitable.     It  is  an  impulse   creditable   to  the 
human  heart,  but  its  effects  have  not  been  approved  by 
reason,  for  indiscriminate  charity  provokes  deception,  and 
is  certain  to  result  in  chronic  dependency.     Wise  methods 
of  charity,  therefore,  constitute  a  problem  as  truly  as  pov- 
erty itself.     Experience  has  proved  so  conclusively  that  the 
old  methods  of  relief  are  unsatisfactory,  that  it  has  become 
necessary  to  determine  and  formulate  true  principles  of 
relief  for  those  who  really  desire  to  exercise  their  philan- 
thropy helpfully.    How  to  help  is  the  question. 

286.  History  of  Relief. — Some  light  is  thrown  on  the 
subject  from  the  experience  of  the  past.     The  whole  notion 
of  charity  as  a  social  duty  was  foreign  to  ancient  thought. 
Families  and  clans  had  their  own  dependents,  and  benefit 
societies  helped  their  own  members.     The  Hebrew  prophets 
called  for  mercy  and  kindness,  Jesus  spoke   his   parable 
of  the  good  Samaritan,  and  the  primitive  Christians  went  so 
far  as  to  organize  their  charity,  so  that  none  of  their  mem- 
bers would  fail  of  a  fair  share.    The  church  taught  alms- 
giving as  a  deed  of  merit  before  God,  and  all  through  its 
history  the  Catholic  Church  has  done  much  for  its  poor. 
In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  a  part  of  the  feudal  theory  that 
the  lord  would  care  for  his  serfs,  but  in  reality  they  got 
most  help  at  the  doors  of  a  monastery.     In  modern  times 
the  church  has  shifted  its  burden  to  the  state.     This  was 
inevitable  in  countries  where  there  was  no  state  church, 
and  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  modern  principle  that 

271 


272       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

the  state  is  organized  society  functioning  for  the  social 
welfare  of  all  the  people. 

In  America  the  colonies  and  then  the  States  adopted  the 
English  custom  of  relieving  extreme  need.  At  first  it  was 
possible  for  local  committees  to  take  care  of  their  poor  by 
doles  furnished  sparingly  in  their  homes,  and  to  place  the 
chronic  dependents  in  almshouses.  The  former  practice  is 
known  as  outdoor  relief,  the  latter  as  indoor  relief.  Such 
relief  was  not  administered  scientifically,  and  did  not  help 
to  reduce  the  amount  of  poverty.  The  almshouses  were 
the  dumping-ground  of  a  community's  undesirables,  includ- 
ing idiots  and  even  insane,  cripples  and  incurables,  epilep- 
tics, old  people,  and  orphan  children,  constituting  a  social 
environment  that  was  anything  but  helpful  to  human 
development.  After  a  time  it  became  necessary  for  the 
State  to  relieve  the  local  authorities.  The  defectives  and 
dependents  became  too  numerous  for  the  local  community 
to  take  care  of,  and  enlightened  philanthropy  was  learning 
better  methods.  The  result  has  been  the  gradual  exten- 
sion of  State  care  and  the  segregation  of  the  various  classes 
of  incompetents  in  various  State  institutions,  including 
hospitals  for  the  insane,  the  epileptic,  and  the  morally 
deficient,  sanitaria  for  those  who  suffer  from  alcoholic  and 
tuberculous  diseases,  and  schools  for  the  proper  training 
of  the  youth  who  have  come  under  public  oversight. 

287.  Voluntary  Charity. — Public  relief  has  been  supple- 
mented extensively  by  voluntary  charity.  This  has  be- 
come increasingly  scientific.  Indeed  popular  ideas  have 
been  largely  transformed  during  the  last  generation.  In 
the  small  towns  and  villages  where  there  was  little  destitu- 
tion, and  where  all  knew  one  another's  needs,  there  was 
no  special  need  of  scientific  investigation  or  charitable 
organization,  but  in  the  large  cities  it  became  necessary. 
Thomas  Chalmers  in  Scotland  and  Edward  Denison  and 
Octavia  Hill  in  England  demonstrated  the  conditions  and 
the  advantages  of  organized  effort.  The  first  charity  organ- 
ization society  was  organized  in  1869  in  London.  Its  fun- 
damental principle  was  to  help  the  poor  to  help  themselves 
rather  than  to  give  them  alms.  Its  aim  was  to  federate  all 


Charity  and  the  Settlements  273 

the  charitable  efforts  of  London,  and  while  this  has  not 
proved  practicable,  it  has  greatly  increased  efficiency  and 
has  helped  to  bind  together  philanthropic  effort  all  over 
England.  The  income  of  the  various  charitable  agencies 
of  London  alone  was  reported  to  be  $43,000,000  in  1906. 

In  the  United  States  the  first  organization  on  the 
English  model  was  the  charity  organization  society  of 
Buffalo,  founded  in  1877;  Boston  followed  with  a  similar 
organization  the  next  year.  These  were  followed  by  the 
organization  of  a  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rections, which  holds  annual  meetings  and  publishes  reports 
that  are  a  valuable  storehouse  of  information.  Many  char- 
itable agencies  of  various  kinds  contribute  to  the  work  of 
relief,  some  of  them  really  helpful,  others  actually  blocking 
the  way  of  genuine  progress,  but  all  showing  the  strength 
of  the  philanthropic  motive  in  American  cities.  The  closer 
their  alliance  with  the  associated  charities  the  more  effec- 
tive are  their  measures  of  charity.  Three  stages  have 
marked  the  history  of  the  charitable  organization  societies, 
as  they  have  learned  from  experience.  The  first  has  been 
called  the  repressive  stage.  The  fear  of  pauperizing  recipi- 
ents of  charity  made  the  societies  too  strict  in  their  alms- 
giving, so  that  hardships  resulted  that  were  unnecessary, 
but  such  a  course  was  the  natural  reaction  against  the 
indiscriminate  charity  that  had  been  in  vogue.  This  stage 
was  succeeded  by  the  discriminative,  in  which  help  is  given 
discriminatingly,  as  investigation  shows  a  real  need  at  the 
same  time  that  efforts  are  being  put  forth  to  make  prolonged 
giving  unnecessary.  Closely  combined  with  this  discrimi- 
nation, which  is  in  constant  use,  is  the  third  method  of 
construction.  By  this  constructive  method  the  worker 
tries  to  get  at  the  cause  of  the  particular  case  of  poverty 
and  to  alter  the  social  conditions  so  that  the  cause  shall 
no  longer  act.  Experience  and  experiment  have  produced 
numerous  specific  measures  of  a  constructive  sort,  like  the 
establishment  of  playgrounds  and  public  parks,  kinder- 
gartens and  schools  for  specific  purposes,  social  settlements 
and  school  centres,  municipal  baths  and  gymnasiums,  tene- 
ment-house reforms  and  the  prevention  of  disease. 


274       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

288.  Friendly  Visiting. — The  functions  of  charity  organ- 
ization societies  have  been  described  as  the  co-ordination 
and  co-operation  of  local  societies  rather  than  direct  relief 
from  the  central  organization,  thorough  investigation  of  all 
cases,  with  temporary  relief  where  necessary,  the  establish- 
ment of  friendly  relations  between  the  poor  and  the  well-to- 
do,  the  finding  of  work  for  those  who  need  it,  and  the  accu- 
mulation of  knowledge  on  poverty  conditions.  The  actual 
contact  of  charitable  societies  with  the  people  has  been 
mainly  through  friendly  visitors  who  voluntarily  engage  to 
call  on  the  needy,  and  who  meet  at  regular  intervals  to 
discuss  concrete  cases  as  well  as  general  methods.  These 
visitors  have  the  advantage  of  bringing  their  spontaneous 
sympathy  to  bear  upon  the  specific  instances  that  come  to 
their  personal  attention,  whereas  the  officials  of  the  charity 
organization  society  inevitably  become  more  callous  to 
suffering  and  tend  to  look  upon  each  family  as  a  case  to  be 
pigeonholed  or  scientifically  treated,  but  the  conviction  is 
growing,  nevertheless,  that  the  situation  can  be  effectively 
handled  only  by  men  and  women  who  are  genuinely  experts, 
trained  in  the  social  settlements  or  in  the  schools  of  philan- 
thropy. Whether  a  voluntary  church  worker  or  a  charity 
expert,  it  is  the  business  of  the  visitor  to  make  thorough 
investigation  of  conditions,  not  merely  inquiring  of  land- 
lord or  neighbors,  or  taking  the  hurried  testimony  of  the 
family,  but  patiently  searching  for  information  from  those 
who  have  known  the  case  over  a  long  period,  preferably 
through  the  charity  organization  society.  Actual  relief 
may  be  required  temporarily  and  must  be  adequate  to  the 
occasion,  but  the  problem  of  the  visitor  is  to  devise  a 
method  of  self-help,  and  to  furnish  the  courage  necessary 
to  undertake  and  carry  it  through.  It  is  important  to 
consider  in  this  connection  the  character  and  ancestry  of 
the  family,  its  environment  and  the  social  ideals  and  ex- 
pectations of  its  members,  if  the  steps  taken  are  to  be 
effective.  The  two  principles  that  underlie  the  whole  prac- 
tice of  relief  are,  first,  to  restore  the  individual  or  family 
to  a  normal  place  in  society  from  which  it  has  fallen,  or  to 
raise  it  to  a  normal  standard  of  living  which  it  has  never 


Charity  and  the  Settlements  275 

before  reached;  secondly,  to  make  all  charity  discrimina- 
tive and  co-operative,  that  it  may  accomplish  the  end 
sought  without  pauperizing  the  recipient. 

289.  Public  and  Private  Agencies. — Institutions  and 
agencies  of  relief  are  of  two  kinds,  public  and  private.     It  is 
one  of  the  functions  of  every  social  group  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  its  members.     It  is  to  be  expected,  therefore,  that 
the  church  and  the  trade-union  will  help  their  own  poor, 
but  it  is  just  as  proper  to  expect  that  the  whole  community, 
and  even  the  whole  state,  will  take  care  of  its  own  needy. 
The  distinction  between  public  and  private  agencies  is  not 
one  of  fundamental  sociological  principle,  but  one  of  con- 
venience and  efficiency  of  administration.     Where  the  state 
has  extended  its  activities,  as  in  Germany,  relief  by  such 
a  method  as  the  Elberfeld  system  is  practicable;  where 
public  opinion,  as  in  the  United  States,  is  not  favorable  to 
remanding  as  much  as  possible  to  the  government,  it  is 
thought   best   that  private   agencies   should   supplement 
State  aid,  and  in  most  cases  make  it  unnecessary. 

290.  Arguments  for  and  Against  Private  Agencies  of 
Relief. — Some  argue  that  private  agencies  should  do  it  all. 
In  spite  of  the  large  resources  at  the  command  of  the  state 
and  the  frequent  necessity  of  legislation  to  handle  the 
problem,  they  claim  that  public  aid  humiliates  and  de- 
grades the  recipient,  while  private  assistance  may  put  him 
on  his  feet  without  destroying  his  self-respect;  and  that 
public  charity  is  too  often  unfeeling  and  tends  to  become 
a  routine  affair,  while  private  aid  can  deal  better  with 
specific  cases,  show  real  interest  and  try  experiments  in  the 
improvement  of  methods.     There  are  those  who  would 
have  all  charity  given  back  to  the  church.     They  believe 
the  responsibility  would  stimulate  the  church's  own  life, 
extend  its  influence  among  the  unchurched,  show  that  it 
had  an  interest  in  the  bodies  as  well  as  the  souls  of  the 
people,  and  bring  about  co-operation  between  churches  in 
the  districts  of  town  or  city.     It  is  of  the  genius  of  true 
religion  to  be  helpful,  and  the  church  could  soon  learn  wise 
methods.     In  answer  to  this  argument  the  reply  is  that  at 
present  the  indiscriminate  charity  of  the  church  is  doing 


276       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

real  harm;  that  the  church  does  not  like  to  co-operate  with 
other  agencies;  that  it  does  not  have  adequate  resources 
to  deal  with  the  problem  or  legal  authority  to  restrain  men- 
dicants or  segregate  the  various  classes  of  dependents ;  and 
that  all  persons  in  the  community  ought  to  share  in  the 
responsibility  of  poor  relief,  and  not  all  are  in  the  church. 
They  recognize  the  valuable  aid  of  such  organizations  as 
the  Hebrew  Charities  and  the  work  of  the  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  Society  of  the  Catholics,  but  they  believe  that  such 
as  these  at  best  can  be  only  auxiliary  to  the  state. 

An  illustration  of  the  usefulness  of  private  associations 
appears  in  a  group  of  seven  boys  of  foreign  parentage  in 
New  York  City,  who  organized  themselves  in  1903  into 
a  quick-aid-to-the-hungry  committee.  They  were  only 
thirteen  years  old  and  poor.  They  lived  on  the  East  Side, 
and  pennies  and  nickels  did  not  make  a  full  treasury.  But 
they  knew  the  need  and  had  an  instinct  for  helping  the 
right  people.  In  seven  years  these  boys  helped  in  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  emergency  cases;  their  pennies 
grew  to  dollars  as  they  earned  more;  their  charity  developed 
their  self-respect ;  they  held  weekly  meetings  for  debate, 
and  several  of  them  made  their  way  through  college.  Funds 
were  supplied,  also,  from  friends  outside,  who  were  glad 
to  aid  such  a  worthy  enterprise.  The  great  need  among 
private  agencies  is  fuller  co-operation  with  one  another  and 
with  public  boards  and  institutions.  Then  duplication  of 
effort,  misunderstandings,  and  wastefulness  are  avoided, 
and  the  hope  of  a  decline  in  conditions  of  poverty  increases. 

There  are  limits,  however,  to  the  ability  of  private  agen- 
cies to  control  the  situation.  There  are  cases  where  the 
organized  community  or  state  must  take  a  hand.  There 
are  lazy  persons  who  will  not  support  themselves  or  their 
families;  there  are  certain  persons  who  are  chronically  ill 
or  dependent;  there  are  various  types  of  defectives  and 
delinquents.  All  these  need  the  authority  of  the  public 
agencies.  Then  there  are  constructive  activities  that 
require  the  assistance  and  sanction  of  government,  like 
parks  and  playgrounds,  industrial  schools,  employment 
bureaus,  the  establishment  and  administration  of  state 


Charity  and  the  Settlements  277 

Institutions,  and  the  enforcement  of  health,  sanitary,  and 
building  laws.  Of  course  there  is  often  inefficiency  in  gov- 
ernment management.  The  local  almshouse  needs  reform- 
ing, and  the  overseers  of  the  poor  should  be  trained  experts. 
The  organization  and  superintendence  of  state  institutions 
is  not  ideal,  and  building  arrangements  need  improvement, 
but  there  is  a  steady  gain  in  the  efficiency  of  boards  of 
trustees  and  local  managers.  There  is  a  willingness  to 
learn  from  experience  and  a  disposition  to  raise  the  stand- 
ards in  all  departments  of  administration. 

291.  The  Social  Settlement. — However  efficient  an  offi- 
cial board  may  be  in  the  discharge  of  its  duties,  it  cannot 
expect  to  call  out  from  the  beneficiary  so  enthusiastic  a 
response  as  can  a  real  friend.  The  best  friends  of  the  poor 
are  their  neighbors.  It  is  well  known  that  a  group  of 
families  in  a  tenement  house  will  help  one  of  their  number 
that  is  in  specific  difficulty,  and  that  the  poor  give  more 
generously  to  help  their  own  kind  than  do  those  who  are 
more  well-to-do.  It  was  a  conviction  of  these  principles 
of  friendliness  and  neighborliness  that  led  to  the  first  social 
settlements.  Because  a  person  lives  in  an  undesirable  part 
of  the  city  he  is  not  necessarily  a  subject  for  charity,  and 
the  settlement  is  in  no  sense  to  be  thought  of  as  a  charita- 
ble agency.  It  is  a  home  established  among  the  less-favored 
part  of  the  population  by  educated,  refined,  sympathetic 
people  who  want  to  be  neighborly  and  to  bring  courage  and 
cheer  and  helpfulness  to  the  struggling  masses.  The  origi- 
nal residents  of  Hull  House  in  Chicago  believed  that  class 
alienation  could  be  overcome  best  by  the  establishment 
of  intimate  social  relationships,  and  they  were  willing  to 
sacrifice  their  natural  social  advantages  for  the  larger  good. 

Settlements  are  not  exclusively  of  the  city,  but  the  stress 
of  life  is  sternest  in  the  cities,  and  most  of  the  experiments 
have  been  made  there.  They  are  oases  in  the  desert  of  the 
buildings  and  pavements  of  brick,  with  their  grime  and 
monotony,  and  if  the  people  of  the  desert  will  camp  for  an 
hour  and  drink  of  the  spring,  those  who  have  planted  the 
oasis  will  be  well  pleased.  To  attract  them  the  settlement 
workers  have  organized  clubs  and  classes  for  united  study 


278        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

and  activity  in  matters  that  naturally  interest  the  peo- 
ple of  the  neighborhood;  they  have  music  and  dancing 
and  amateur  theatricals,  and  often  they  supply  domestic 
or  industrial  training  in  a  small  way  for  the  young  people 
who  frequent  the  settlement.  The  residents  aim  to  give 
the  people  what  they  want;  they  do  not  impose  anything 
upon  them.  They  try  to  satisfy  economic  and  social  wants. 
They  try  to  stimulate  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  to 
desire  the  best  things  that  they  can  get.  They  co-operate 
with  the  police  and  other  departments  of  the  city  govern- 
ment, with  the  library,  and  with  the  school.  They  assist 
in  procuring  work  for  those  who  want  it;  they  encourage 
the  people  to  be  thrifty  and  temperate;  they  help  them  to 
get  baths  and  gymnastic  facilities,  playgrounds,  and  social 
centres.  They  frequently  carry  on  investigations  that  are 
of  great  value  and  assist  charitable  agencies  in  their  in- 
quiries and  beneficence.  They  call  frequently  upon  the  peo- 
ple in  their  homes  and  encourage  them  to  ask  for  counsel 
and  help  if  they  are  in  trouble. 

The  settlement  idea  grew  out  of  a  growing  interest  in 
the  common  people.  It  was  stimulated  by  Maurice's  estab- 
lishment at  London  of  a  working  man's  college,  with  recent 
Cambridge  graduates  as  teachers,  and  by  university  exten- 
sion work  in  Cambridge;  it  was  suggested  further  by  the 
location  of  Edward  Denison  in  the  East  End  of  London  in 
1867.  In  1885  Canon  Barnett,  of  St.  Jude's  Church,  Lon- 
don, founded  Toynbee  Hall  under  Oxford  auspices.  The 
first  settlement  in  the  United  States  was  established  in 
New  York  in  1887,  and  soon  became  known  as  the  Uni- 
versity Settlement.  Hull  House  in  Chicago  was  started 
two  years  later;  the  first  settlement  in  Boston  was  founded 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary. 
Most  settlements  avoid  church  connections,  because  of  the 
danger  of  misunderstandings  among  people  of  widely  differ- 
ing faiths. 

The  settlement  has  existed  long  enough  to  become  a  true 
social  institution.  It  has  remained  true  to  its  original  prin- 
ciple of  neighborliness,  but  it  has  increased  its  activities 
as  occasion  demanded.  It  has  been  a  useful  object-lesson 


Charity  and  the  Settlements  279 

to  churches  and  city  governments;  some  of  its  methods 
have  been  imitated,  and  in  some  of  the  cities  its  efforts 
have  become  unnecessary  in  certain  directions  because  the 
city  government  itself  has  adopted  its  plans.  The  settle- 
ment has  its  critics  and  its  devoted  supporters;  it  is  one 
of  the  voluntary  experiments  that  shows  the  spirit  of  its 
promoters  and  that  helps  along  social  progress,  and  it  must 
be  estimated  among  the  assets  of  a  community.  Here  and 
there  in  the  country  among  certain  groups,  as  lumbermen, 
miners,  or  construction  workers,  or  even  in  a  settled  town, 
many  of  the  methods  of  the  settlement  are  likely  to  find 
acceptance,  and  the  settlement  idea  of  neighborliness  is 
fundamental  to  all  happy  and  successful  social  life. 

READING  REFERENCES 

DEVINE:  Principles  of  Relief,  pages  10-28,  171-181. 

WARNER:  American  Charities,  pages  301-393. 

CONYNGTON:  How  to  Help,  pages  56-219. 

HENDERSON:  Modern  Methods  of  Charity,  pages  380-511. 

HENDERSON:  Social  Settlements. 

ADDAMS:  Twenty  Years  at  Hull  House,  pages  89-153. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 
EDUCATIONAL  AGENCIES 

292.  The  Schools  of  the  City. — An  important  function 
of  city  government  and  of  other  institutions  is  the  educa- 
tion of  the  people  who  make  their  home  in  the  city  or 
come  to  it  to  broaden  their  culture.    The  city  provides  for 
its  young  people  as  the  country  community  does,  by  locat- 
ing school-buildings  within  convenient  reach  of  the  people 
of  every  district,  but  on  a  much  larger  and  usually  a  more 
efficient  scale.     Better  trained  teachers,  better  grading,  a 
more  modern  equipment  and  well-proved  methods  give  an 
advantage  in  education  to  the  city  child,  though  there  are 
drawbacks  in  overcrowded  buildings  and  narrow  yards  for 
play.    The  opportunities  for  social  education  are  broader 
in  the  city,  for  the  child  comes  into  contact  with  many  types 
of  people,  with  a  great  variety  of  social  institutions,  and 
with  all  sorts  of  activities.     It  is  these  advantages,  together 
with  the  higher  institutions  for  study,  that  attract  hun- 
dreds and  sometimes  thousands  of  students  to  the  promi- 
nent social   centres.     The   colleges  and  universities,  the 
normal  schools,  the  music  and  art  institutes  and  lecture 
systems  are  numerous  and  attract  correspondingly. 

293.  The  Press  as  an  Educator. — The  institutions  di- 
rectly concerned  with  instruction  are  supplemented  by 
other  educational  agencies.     Among  these  is  the  press. 
The  press  is  an  institution  that  exerts  a  mighty  force  upon 
every  department  of  the  city's  life.     It  is  at  the  same  time 
a  business  enterprise  and  a  social  institution.     It  is  a  public 
misfortune  that  the  newspaper,  the  magazine,  and  the  book 
publishing  house  is  a  private  business  undertaking,  and 
often  stands  for  class,  party,  or  sectarian  interests  before 
those  of  the  whole  of  society.    There  is  always  a  tempta- 
tion to  sacrifice  principle  to  policy,  to  publish  distorted  or 

280 


Educational  Agencies  281 

half-true  statements  from  selfish  interest,  and  to  prostitute 
influence  to  individuals  or  groups  that  care  little  for  the 
public  welfare.  The  publication  of  a  statement  or  narra- 
tive of  a  crime  or  other  misdemeanor  tends  by  suggestion 
to  the  imitation  of  the  wrong  by  others;  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  a  sensational  story  of  suicide  or  murder  is  likely 
to  provoke  others  in  the  same  manner.  It  is  a  grave  ques- 
tion whether  the  realistic  fiction  so  much  in  vogue  and 
published  in  such  quantities  is  not  a  baneful  text-book  on 
modern  society.  But  when  it  chooses  the  press  becomes 
an  instrument  of  immense  value  to  the  public.  It  can  turn 
the  light  of  publicity  on  dark  and  dirty  places.  It  can  and 
does  provide  a  means  of  wise  utterance  on  questions  of  the 
day.  It  keeps  a  record  of  the  good  as  well  as  the  evil  that 
is  done.  It  is  a  means  of  communication  between  local 
groups  everywhere,  for  it  publishes  what  everybody  wants 
to  know  about  everybody  else.  It  introduces  the  antipodes 
to  each  other,  and  makes  it  possible  for  far-sundered  groups 
to  unite  even  internationally  for  a  good  cause.  As  the  rail- 
road binds  together  portions  of  a  continent,  so  the  press 
links  the  minds  of  human  beings. 

294.  A  Metropolitan  Newspaper. — Take  a  metropolitan 
newspaper  and  see  how  it  reflects  the  current  life  of  society. 
Economic  interests  of  buyer  and  seller  are  exploited  in  the 
advertising  columns.  In  no  other  way  could  a  merchant 
so  persuasively  hawk  his  wares  or  a  purchaser  learn  so 
readily  about  the  market.  The  wholesaler  and  jobber  find 
their  interests  attended  to  in  special  columns  provided  par- 
ticularly for  them.  Financial  interests  are  cared  for  by 
stock-exchange  quotations,  news  items,  and  advertisements. 
All  kinds  of  social  concerns  are  taken  care  of  in  the  news 
columns,  items  collected  at  great  expense  from  the  four 
quarters  of  the  globe.  Gatherings  for  a  great  variety  of 
purposes  are  recorded.  Educational  and  religious  interests 
are  given  space,  as  well  as  sports  and  amusements;  last 
Sunday's  sermon  jostles  the  latest  scandal  on  Monday  morn- 
ing; weather  probabilities  and  shipping  news  have  their 
corners,  as  well  as  the  fashion  department  and  the  cartoon. 
The  newspaper  is  a  moving  picture  of  the  world. 


282      Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

295.  The  Value  of  the  Press. — The  most  valuable  ser- 
vice rendered  by  the  press  is  its  education  of  the  public 
mind,  so  that  public  opinion  may  register  itself  hi  intelli- 
gent action.     It  provides  a  forum  for  the  discussion  of  issues 
that  divide  sects  and  parties,  and  helps  to  preserve  religious 
freedom  and  popular  government.     Except  that  it  is  so 
frequently  trammelled  in  uttering  itself  frankly  on  impor- 
tant public  questions,  it  gives  an  indication  of  the  trend  of 
sentiment  and  so  makes  possible  a  forecast  of  future  public 
action.     The  very  variety  of  printed  publications,  from  the 
sensational  daily  sheet  to  the  published  proceedings  of  a 
learned  society,  insures  a  healthy  interchange  of  ideas  that 
helps  to  level  social  inequalities  and  promotes  a  mutual 
understanding  among  all  groups  and  grades  of  society. 
The  cheapened  process  of  book  publication  on  a  large  scale, 
and  the  investment  of  large  sums  of  money  in  the  publishing 
business,  with  its  mechanics  of  sale  management  as  well  as 
printing,  has  made  possible  an  enormous  output  of  litera- 
ture on  all  subjects  and  has  widened  the  range  of  general 
information  in  possession  of  the  public.    The  whole  system 
of  modern  life  would  be  impossible  without  the  press. 

296.  The  Library  and  the  Museum. — In  spite  of  the 
efficient  methods  used  for  selling  the  output  of  the  press, 
large  numbers  of  books  would  be  little  read  were  it  not  for 
the  collections  of  books  that  are  available  to  the  public, 
either  free  or  at  small  cost.    The  public  library  is  an  educa- 
tive agency  that  serves  its  constituency  as  faithfully  as  the 
school  and  the  press.     Its  presence  for  use  is  one  of  the 
advantages  that  the  city  has  over  the  country,  though  the 
public  library  has  been  extended  far  within  one  or  two 
decades.     The  child  goes  from  home  to  school  and  widens 
the  circle  of  his  acquaintances  in  the  community;  through 
the  daily  newspaper  the  adult  gets  into  touch  with  a  far 
wider  environment,  reaching  even  across  the  oceans;  hi  the 
library  any  person,  without  respect  to  age,  color,  or  condi- 
tion, if  only  he  possess  the  key  of  literacy  to  unlock  knowl- 
edge, can  travel  to  the  utmost  limits  of  continents  and 
seas,  can  dig  with  the  geologist  below  the  surface,  or  soar 
with  the  astronomer  beyond  the  limits  of  aviation,  can  hob- 


Educational  Agencies  283 

nob  with  ancient  worthies  or  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  latest 
novelist  or  philosopher,  and  can  learn  how  to  rule  empires 
from  as  good  text-books  as  kings  or  patriarchs  possess. 

What  the  library  does  for  intellectual  satisfaction  the 
museum  and  art-gallery  do  for  aesthetic  appreciation.  They 
make  their  appeal  to  the  love  of  beauty  in  form,  color,  or 
weave,  and  call  out  oftentimes  the  best  efforts  of  an  indi- 
vidual's own  genius.  Often  the  gift  of  one  or  more  public- 
spirited  citizens,  they  register  a  disposition  to  serve  society 
that  is  sometimes  as  useful  as  charity.  Philanthropy  that 
uplifts  the  mind  of  the  recipient  is  as  desirable  as  benevo- 
lence that  plans  bodily  relief;  the  soul  that  is  filled  has  as 
much  cause  to  bless  its  minister  as  the  stomach  that  is 
relieved  of  hunger.  The  picture-galleries  of  Europe,  the 
tapestries,  the  metal  and  wood  work,  the  engravings,  and 
the  frescoes,  are  the  precious  legacy  of  the  past  to  the 
present,  not  easily  reproduced,  but  serving  as  a  continual 
incentive  to  modern  production.  They  set  in  motion  spir- 
itual forces  that  uplift  and  expand  the  human  mind  and 
spur  it  to  future  achievement. 

297.  Music  and  the  Drama. — Music  and  the  drama 
have  a  similar  stimulating  and  refining  influence  when  they 
are  not  debauched  by  a  sordid  commercialism.  They 
strengthen  the  noblest  impulses,  stir  the  blood  to  worthy 
deeds  by  their  rhythmic  or  pictorial  influence,  unite  indi- 
vidual hearts  in  worship  or  play,  throb  in  unison  with  the 
sentiments  that  through  all  time  have  swayed  human  life. 
Often  they  have  catered  to  the  lower  instincts,  and  have 
served  for  cheap  amusement  or  entertainment  not  worth 
while,  but  concert-hall  and  theatre  alike  are  capable  of  an 
educative  work  that  can  hardly  be  equalled  elsewhere. 
When  in  combination  they  appeal  to  both  eye  and  ear,  they 
provide  avenues  for  intellectual  understanding  and  activity 
that  neither  school  nor  press  can  parallel.  Recent  mechani- 
cal inventions,  such  as  automatic  musical  instruments  and 
moving  pictures,  have  added  greatly  to  the  range  and 
effectiveness  of  music  and  the  drama,  but  they  only  inten- 
sify and  popularize  the  appeal  to  the  senses.  It  is  to  be 
remembered  that  individual  and  social  stimuli  must  be 


284       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

varied  enough  to  touch  men  at  all  points  and  call  out  a 
response  from  every  faculty  of  their  nature.  These  arts, 
therefore,  that  make  life  real  and  socialize  it  and  cheer  men 
and  women  on  their  way,  play  a  vital  part  in  the  education 
of  society  and  deserve  as  serious  consideration  as  the  other 
educational  agencies  and  institutions  that  find  a  place  in 
the  social  economy  of  the  community.  Numerous  amateur 
musical  and  dramatic  societies  testify  to  the  interest  of  the 
people  in  these  refined  arts. 

298.  The  Need  of  Social  Centres. — Books  and  pictures, 
music  and  the  drama  are  so  many  mild  stimulants  to  those 
who  use  and  appreciate  them,  but  there  are  large  numbers  of 
people  who  rarely  read  anything  but  the  newspaper,  and 
who  attend  only  cheap  entertainments.    These  people  need 
a  spur  to  high  thoughts  and  noble  action,  but  they  do  not 
move  in  the  world  of  culture.    They  need  a  stronger  stim- 
ulant, the  tang  of  virile  debate  about  questions  that  touch 
closely  their  daily  concerns,  discussions  in  which  they  can 
share  if  they  feel  disposed.     In  large  circles  of  the  city's 
population  there  is  a  lack  of  facilities  for  such  public  dis- 
cussion, and  for  that  reason  the  people  fall  back  on  the 
prejudices  of  the  newspapers  for  the  formation  of  their 
opinions  on  public  questions.     Disputes  sometimes  wax 
warm  in  the  saloon   about  the  merits  of  a  pugilist  or 
baseball-player;   questions  of  the  rights  of  labor  are  aired 
in  the  talk  of  the  trade-union  headquarters;  but  the  vital 
issues  of  city,  state,  and  nation,  and  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples that  are  at  stake  find  few  avenues  to  the  minds  of 
the  mass  of  the  people.     In  the  country  the  town  meeting 
or  the  gathering  at  the  district  schoolhouse  provides  an 
occasional  opportunity,  or  the  grange  meeting  supplies  a 
forum  for  its  members,  but  even  there  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  people  do  not  talk  over  large  questions  often  enough. 
In  the  city  the  need  is  great. 

299.  The   City   Neighborhood. — It  is  well  understood 
that  large  cities  have  most  of  their  public  buildings  and 
business  structures  in  one  quarter,  and  their  residences  in 
another;  also  that  the  character  of  the  residential  districts 
varies  according  to  the  wealth  and  culture  of  their  inhab- 


Educational  Agencies  285 

itants  or  the  nationality  and  occupation  to  which  they 
belong.  The  city  is  a  coalition  of  semidetached  groups, 
each  of  which  has  a  unity  of  its  own.  The  necessities  of 
work  draw  all  the  people  together  down-town  along  the 
lines  of  streets  and  railways;  now  and  then  the  different 
classes  are  shaken  together  in  elevators  and  subways;  but 
when  they  are  free  to  follow  their  own  volition  they  flow 
apart.  Those  who  are  on  terms  of  intimacy  live  in  a 
neighboring  street;  the  grocer  from  whom  they  buy  is  at 
the  corner;  the  school  where  their  children  go  is  within  a 
few  blocks;  the  theatre  they  patronize  or  the  church  they 
attend  is  not  far  away;  the  physician  they  employ  lives 
in  the  neighborhood.  Except  the  few  who  get  about  easily 
in  their  own  conveyances  and  have  a  wide  acquaintance, 
city  dwellers  have  all  but  their  business  interests  in  the 
district  in  which  they  live,  and  which  is  seldom  over  a 
square  mile  in  extent. 

Some  municipalities  are  coming  to  see  that  each  district 
is  a  neighborhood  in  itself  and  needs  all  the  democratic 
institutions  of  a  neighborhood.  Among  these  belongs  the 
assembly  hall  for  free  speech.  It  may  well  become  a  cen- 
tre for  a  variety  of  social  purposes,  but  it  is  fundamentally 
important  that  it  provide  a  forum  for  public  discussion. 
As  the  rich  man  has  his  club  where  he  may  meet  the  globe- 
trotter or  the  leader  of  public  affairs  distinguished  in  his 
own  country,  and  as  the  woman's  club  of  high-minded 
women  has  its  own  lecturers  and  celebrities  of  all  kinds, 
so  the  working  man  and  his  wife  have  a  right  to  come  into 
contact  with  stimulating  personalities  who  will  talk  to  them 
and  to  whom  they  can  talk  back. 

300.  Forum  for  Public  Discussion. — Such  democratic 
gatherings  fall  into  two  classes.  There  is  the  public  lec- 
ture or  address,  after  which  an  opportunity  for  questions 
and  public  discussion  is  given,  and  there  is  the  neighbor- 
hood forum  or  town  meeting,  at  which  a  question  of  gen- 
eral interest  is  taken  up  and  debated  in  regular  parlia- 
mentary fashion.  In  a  number  of  cities  both  plans  have 
been  adopted.  On  a  Sunday  afternoon  or  evening,  or  at 
a  convenient  time  on  another  evening  of  the  week,  a  popu- 


286        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

lar  speaker  addresses  the  audience  on  a  theme  of  social 
interest,  after  it  has  been  entertained  for  a  half  hour  with 
music;  following  the  address  a  brief  intermission  allows 
for  relaxation,  and  then  for  an  hour  the  question  goes  to 
the  house,  and  free  discussion  takes  place  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  leader  of  the  meeting.  Sometimes  series  of 
this  sort  are  supplied  by  churches  or  other  social  organiza- 
tions; in  that  case  many  of  the  speakers  are  clergymen, 
and  in  some  forums  the  topics  are  connected  with  religious 
or  strictly  moral  interests;  but  even  then  the  discussion  is 
on  the  broad  plane  of  the  common  concerns  of  humanity, 
and  there  is  a  zest  to  the  occasion  that  the  ordinary  relig- 
ious gathering  does  not  inspire.  The  second  plan  is  mod- 
elled after  the  old-fashioned  town  meeting  that  was  trans- 
planted from  the  mother  country  to  New  England,  and 
has  spread  to  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a 
gathering  of  all  who  wish  to  discuss  freely  some  question 
that  interests  them  all,  and  it  is  more  strictly  co-operative 
than  the  first  plan,  for  there  is  no  one  speaker  to  contribute 
the  main  part  of  the  debate,  but  each  may  make  his  own 
contribution,  and  by  the  power  of  his  own  persuasion  win 
for  his  argument  the  decision  of  the  meeting.  Besides 
stimulating  the  interest  of  those  who  take  part,  such  a 
debate  is  a  most  effective  educator  of  the  public  mind  in 
matters  of  social  weal. 

READING  REFERENCES 

HENDERSON:  Social  Elements,  pages  228-253. 
KING:  Social  Aspects  of  Education,  pages  65-97,  264-290. 
WARD:  The  Social  Center,  pages  212-251. 
WOLFE:  The  Lodging  House  Problem,  pages  109-114. 
Addresses  and  Proceedings  of  the  National  Education  Association, 
1905,  pages  644-650,  "Music  as  a  Factor  in  Culture." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
THE  CHURCH 

301.  The  Place  of  the  Church  in  the  Urban  Commu- 
nity.— In  the  city,  as  in  the  country,  the  religious  instinct 
expresses  itself  socially  through  the  institution  of  the 
church  or  synagogue.  Spiritual  force  cannot  be  confined 
within  the  limits  of  a  single  institution;  religion  is  a  dy- 
namic that  permeates  the  life  of  society;  yet  in  this  age 
of  specialization,  and  especially  in  a  country  like  the  United 
States,  where  religion  is  a  voluntary  affair,  not  to  be  en- 
tangled with  the  school  or  the  State,  religion  has  naturally 
exerted  its  influence  most  directly  through  the  church. 
Charity  and  settlement  workers  are  inspired  by  a  religion 
that  makes  humanitarianism  a  part  of  its  creed,  and  a 
large  majority  of  them  are  church  members,  but  as  a  rule 
they  do  not  attempt  to  introduce  any  religious  forms  or  ex- 
ercises into  their  programmes.  Most  public-school  teachers 
have  their  religious  connections  and  recognize  the  impor- 
tant place  of  religion  in  moulding  character,  but  religious 
teaching  is  not  included  in  the  curriculum  because  of  the 
recognized  principle  of  complete  religious  liberty  and  the 
separation  of  church  and  state.  The  result  has  been  that 
religion  is  not  consciously  felt  as  a  vital  force  among  many 
people  who  are  not  directly  connected  with  an  ecclesiasti- 
cal institution.  Those  who  are  definitely  connected  with 
the  church  in  America  contribute  voluntarily  to  its  ex- 
penses, sometimes  even  at  personal  sacrifice.  Most  people 
who  have  little  religious  interest  realize  the  value  of  the 
mere  presence  of  a  meeting-house  in  the  community  as  a 
reminder  of  moral  obligations  and  an  insurance  against 
disorder.  Its  spire  seems  to  point  the  way  to  heaven,  and 
to  make  a  mute  appeal  to  the  best  motives  and  the 
highest  ideals.  The  decline  of  the  church  is,  therefore, 
regarded  as  a  sign  of  social  degeneracy. 

287 


288        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

302.  Worship   and   Church   Attendance. — The   church 
exists  in  the  city  because  it  has  certain  specific  functions 
to  perform.     To  maintain  public  worship,  to  persuade  to 
definite  convictions  and  inspire  to  noble  conduct,  to  fur- 
nish religious  education,  and  to  promote  social  reform  are 
its  essential  responsibilities.     Worship  is  a  natural  attitude 
to  the  individual  who  is  prompted  by  a  desire  to  adjust 
himself  to  the  universe  and  to  obtain  the  peace  of  mind 
that  follows  upon  the  establishment  of  a  right  relationship. 
To  most  people  it  is  easier  to  get  into  the  proper  atmos- 
phere and  spirit  of  worship  in  a  public  assembly,  and 
they  therefore  are  accustomed  to  meet  at  stated  intervals 
and  bow  side  by  side  as  if  in  kinship  together  before  the 
Unseen.     Long-established  habit  and  a  superstitious  fear 
of  the  consequences  that  may  follow  neglect  keep  some 
persons  regular  in  church  attendance  when  they  have  no 
sense  of  spiritual  satisfaction  in  worship.     Others  go  to 
church  because  of  the  social  opportunities  that  are  pres- 
ent in  any  public  gathering. 

In  recent  years  church  attendance  has  not  kept  pace 
with  the  increasing  population  of  the  city.  A  certain 
pride  of  intellect  and  a  feeling  of  security  in  the  growing 
power  of  man  over  nature  has  produced  an  indifference  to 
religion  and  religious  teachers.  Multiplicity  of  other  in- 
terests overshadows  the  ecclesiastical  interests  of  the  aris- 
tocracy; fatigue  and  hostility  to  an  institution  that  they 
think  caters  to  the  rich  keeps  the  proletariat  at  home.  In 
addition  the  tendency  of  foreigners  is  to  throw  off  religion 
along  with  other  compulsory  things  that  belonged  to  the 
Old  World  life  and  to  add  to  the  number  of  the  unchurched. 

303.  Evangelism  and  the  History  of  Religious  Convic- 
tion.— A  second  function  of  the  church  is  to  exert  spiritual 
and  moral  suasion.     It  is  a  social  instinct  to  communicate 
ideas;  language  developed  for  that  purpose.     It  is  natural, 
therefore,   that  a  church   that  has  definite  ideas  about 
human  obligation   toward   God   and  men   should   try  to 
influence  individuals  and  even  send  out  evangelists  and 
missionaries  to  propagate  its  faith  widely.    Those  churches 
that  think  alike  have  organized  into  denominations,  and 


The  Church  289 

have  arranged  extensive  propaganda  and  trained  and  or- 
dained their  preachers  to  reason  with  and  persuade  their 
auditors  to  receive  and  act  upon  the  message  that  is  spoken. 
Several  of  the  large  cities  of  the  United  States  contain 
denominational  headquarters  where  world-wide  activities 
receive  direction,  veritable  dynamos  for  the  generation  of 
one  of  the  vital  forces  of  society. 

The  convictions  that  prompt  evangelism  and  missionary 
zeal  are  the  result  of  centuries  of  race  experience.  The 
Catholic,  the  Protestant,  and  the  Jewish  churches  have 
all  grown  out  of  religious  experience  and  religious  thinking 
that  have  their  roots  in  early  human  history.  The  very 
forms  of  worship  and  of  creed  that  constitute  the  frame- 
work of  religion  in  a  modern  city  church  date  far  back  in 
their  origins.  The  religious  instinct  appears  to  be  com- 
mon to  the  whole  human  race.  In  primitive  times  religious 
interest  was  prompted  by  fear,  and  the  early  customs  of 
sacrifice  and  worship  were  established  by  the  group  to 
bring  its  members  into  friendly  relations  with  the  Power 
outside  themselves  that  might  work  to  their  undoing. 
Temples  and  shrines  testified  to  man's  devotion  and  stirred 
his  emotions  by  their  symbols  and  ceremonies.  A  special 
class  of  men  was  organized,  a  priesthood  to  mediate  with 
the  gods  for  mankind.  Children  were  taught  to  respect 
and  fear  the  higher  powers,  and  their  elders  were  often 
warned  not  to  stir  the  anger  of  deity.  As  the  human 
mind  developed,  impulse  and  emotion  were  supplemented 
by  intellect.  As  man  ruminated  upon  nature  and  human 
experience  he  was  satisfied  that  there  was  intelligence  and 
power  in  the  universe,  divine  personality  similar  to  but 
greater  than  himself,  and  his  reason  sanctioned  the  religious 
acts  to  which  he  had  become  accustomed.  He  added  a 
creed  to  his  cult.  He  did  not  associate  his  moral  ideas 
and  habits  with  his  religious  obligations;  these  ideas  and 
habits  grew  out  of  the  customs  that  had  been  found  to 
work  best  in  social  relations.  Pagan  religions  were  slow 
to  develop  any  kinship  between  religion  and  morals.  It 
was  among  the  Hebrews  that  the  loftier  idea  of  a  God  of 
holiness  and  justice,  who  demanded  right  and  kindly  con- 


290       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

duct  among  men,  came  into  prominence,  and  a  few  religious 
prophets  went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  sacrifice  was  less 
important  than  conduct.  The  fundamental  teachings  of 
Christianity  were  based  on  the  same  conception  of  social 
duty  and  on  the  religious  conception  of  God  as  benevolent 
and  loving,  calling  out  loving  fealty  of  heart  rather  than 
external  rite  and  sacrifice.  In  Christian  times  religion  has 
become  a  spiritual  and  moral  motive  power  throughout 
the  world. 

304.  Church  Organization. — Throughout  its  long  his- 
tory society  has  adjusted  the  organization  of  its  religious 
activities  to  social  custom  and  social  need.  The  church 
in  any  country  is  a  name  for  an  organized  system,  with  its 
nerve-centres  and  its  ganglia  ramifying  into  the  remotest 
localities.  In  the  local  community  it  binds  together  its 
members  in  mutual  relations,  even  though  they  live  on 
different  sides  of  a  city,  or  even  in  the  suburbs.  It  has 
its  relations  to  young  and  old,  and  plans  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  human  beings  of  every  age  through  its  boards 
and  committees,  classes  and  clubs.  It  presents  a  variety 
of  group  types  to  match  the  inclinations  and  opinions  of 
different  types  of  mind.  One  type  is  that  of  a  closely 
knit,  centralized  organization,  claiming  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority over  individual  opinions  and  practices  on  the 
principle  that  religion  is  a  static  thing,  a  law  fixed  in  the 
eternal  order,  and  not  to  be  improved  upon  or  questioned. 
Another  type  is  that  of  loosely  federated  ecclesiastical 
units,  flexible  in  organization  and  creed,  cherishing  religion 
as  a  dynamic  thing,  suiting  itself  to  the  changing  mind 
of  man  and  adjusting  itself  to  individual  and  social  need. 
It  is  a  social  law  that  both  theology  and  organization  con- 
form in  a  degree  to  the  prevailing  social  philosophy  and 
constitution,  and  therefore  no  type  can  remain  unchanged, 
but  relatively  one  is  always  conservative  and  the  other 
always  liberal,  with  a  blending  of  types  between  the  two 
extremes.  Denominational  divisions  are  due  partly  to 
variety  of  opinion,  partly  to  ancestry,  and  partly  to  his- 
torical circumstance;  some  of  these  divisions  are  inter- 
national in  extent;  but  through  every  communion  runs 


The  Church  291 

the  line  of  cleavage  between  conservatism  and  liberalism 
in  the  interpretation  of  custom  and  creed.  The  tendency 
of  the  times  is  to  minimize  differences  and  to  bring  together 
divergent  types  in  federation  or  union  on  the  ground  that 
the  church  needs  unity  in  order  to  use  its  strength,  and 
that  religion  can  exert  its  full  energy  in  the  midst  of  society 
only  as  the  friction  of  too  much  machinery  is  removed. 

305.  Religious   Education. — A   third   function   of   the 
church  is  religious  education.    This  function  of  education 
in  religion  belongs  theoretically  to  the  church,  in  common 
with  the  home  and  the  school,  but  the  tendency  has  been 
to  turn  the  religious  education  of  children  over  to  the 
school  of  the  church.     The  minister,  priest,  or  rabbi  is  the 
chief  teacher  of  faith  and  duty,  but  in  the  Sunday-school 
the  laity  also  has  found  instruction  of  the  young  people 
to  be  one  of  its  functions.     Instruction  by  both  of  these 
is  supplemented  by  schools  of  a  distinctly  religious  type 
and  by  a  religious  press.     As  long  as  society  at  large  does 
not  undertake  to  perform  this  function  of  religious  edu- 
cation, the  church  conceives  it  to  be  one  of  its  chief  tasks 
to  teach  as  well  as  to  inspire  the  human  will,  by  interpret- 
ing the  best  religious  thought  that  the  centuries  of  history 
have  handed  down,  and  for  this  purpose  it  uses  the  latest 
scientific  knowledge  about   the   human   mind   and   tries 
to  devise  improved  methods   to  make    education    more 
effective.    Education  is  the  twin  art  of  evangelization. 

306.  Promotion  of  Social  Reform. — As  an  institution 
hoary  with  age,  the  church  is  naturally  conservative,  and 
it  has  been  slow  to  champion  the  various  social  reforms 
that  have  been  proposed  as  panaceas.     It  has  been  quite 
as  much  concerned  with  a  future  existence  as  with  the 
present,  and  has  been  prompt  to  point  to  heavenly  bliss 
as  a  balance  for  earthly  woe.     It  has  concerned  itself  with 
the  soul  rather  than  the  body,  and  with  individual  salva- 
tion rather  than  social  reconstruction.     It  is  only  within 
a  century  that  the  modern  church  has  given  much  atten- 
tion to  promoting  social  betterment  as  one  of  its  principal 
functions,  but  within  a  few  years  the  conscience  of  church 
people  has  been  goading  them  to  undertake  a  campaign 


292        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  social  welfare.  Other  institutions  have  needed  the  help 
of  the  church,  and  in  some  cases  the  church  has  had  to 
take  upon  itself  the  burden  that  belonged  to  other  organi- 
zations; moral  movements,  like  temperance,  have  asked 
for  the  powerful  sanction  of  religion,  and  the  church  has 
used  its  influence  to  persuade  men.  What  has  been  spon- 
taneous and  intermittent  is  now  becoming  regular  and 
continuous,  until  a  social  gospel  is  taking  its  place  along- 
side individual  evangelism.  The  Biblical  phrase,  "the 
kingdom  of  God,"  is  being  interpreted  in  terms  of  an 
improved  social  order.  Religion,  therefore,  becomes  a 
present-day  force  for  progress,  and  the  church  an  agency 
for  social  uplift. 

307.  Adapting  the  Church  to  the  Twentieth  Century 
City. — The  church  in  the  country  has  a  comparatively 
simple  problem  of  existence.  It  fits  into  the  social  organi- 
zation of  the  community,  and  in  most  cases  seldom  has 
to  readjust  itself  by  radical  changes  to  fit  a  swift  change 
in  the  community.  It  is  different  with  the  church  in  the 
city.  Urban  growth  is  one  of  the  striking  phenomena  of 
recent  decades;  local  churches  find  themselves  caught  in 
the  swirl,  grow  rapidly  for  a  time,  and  then  are  left  high 
and  dry  as  the  current  sweeps  the  crowd  farther  along. 
Often  the  particular  type  that  it  represents  is  not  suited 
to  the  newer  residents  who  settle  in  the  section  where  the 
church  stands.  It  has  the  option  of  following  the  crowd 
or  attempting  a  readjustment.  To  decamp  is  usually  the 
easier  way;  readjustment  is  often  so  difficult  as  to  be 
almost  impossible.  Financial  resources  have  been  de- 
pleted. The  existing  organization  is  not  geared  to  the 
customs  of  the  newcomers.  Forms  of  worship  must  be 
improved  if  the  church  is  to  function  satisfactorily.  The 
popular  appeal  of  religion  must  be  couched  in  a  new  phrase- 
ology, often  in  a  new  language.  Religious  educational 
methods  must  be  revised.  Social  service  must  be  fitted 
to  the  new  need.  Small  groups  of  workers  must  be  organ- 
ized to  manage  classes  and  clubs,  and  to  get  into  per- 
sonal contact  with  individuals  whose  orbit  is  on  a  different 
plane.  The  church  must  become  a  magnet  to  draw  them 


The  Church  293 

within  the  influence  of  religion.  It  finds  itself  compelled 
to  adopt  such  methods  as  these  if  it  is  not  to  become  a 
mere  survival  of  a  better  day. 

If,  however,  a  locally  disabled  church  can  call  upon  the 
resources  of  a  whole  denomination,  it  may  be  able  to  make 
the  necessary  adjustments  with  ease,  or  even  to  continue 
its  spiritual  ministry  along  the  old  lines  by  means  of  sub- 
sidies. It  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  society  will  find 
a  way  to  adjust  the  church  to  the  needs  of  city  people. 
It  cannot  afford  to  do  without  it.  The  church  has  been 
the  conserver  and  propagator  of  spiritual  force.  It  has 
supplied  to  thousands  of  persons  the  regenerative  power 
of  religion  that  alone  has  matched  the  degenerating  influ- 
ence of  immoral  habits.  It  has  produced  auxiliary  organ- 
izations, like  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and 
the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association.  It  has  found 
a  way,  as  in  the  Salvation  Army,  to  get  a  grip  upon  the 
weak-willed  and  despairing.  Missions  and  chapels  in  the 
slums  and  synagogues  in  the  ghettos  have  carried  religion 
to  the  lowest  classes.  These  considerations  argue  for  a 
wider  co-operation  among  city  people  in  strengthening  an 
institution  that  represents  social  idealism. 

READING  REFERENCES 

TRAWICK:  The  City  Church  and  Its  Social  Mission,  pages  14-22, 

50-76,  95-99,  122-160. 

STRAYER:  Reconstruction  of  the  Church,  pages  161-249. 
MENZIES:  History  of  Religion,  pages  19-78. 

RAUSCHENBUSCH:  Christianizing  the  Social  Order,  pages  7-29, 96-102. 
McCuLLOCH:  The  Open  Church  for  the  Unchurched,  pages  33-164. 
COE:  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals,  pages  373-388. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 
THE  CITY  IN  THE  MAKING 

308.  Experimenting  in  the  Mass. — The  modern  city  is 
a  gigantic  social  experiment.  Never  before  have  so  many 
people  crowded  together,  never  has  there  been  such  a 
close  interlocking  of  economic  and  social  and  religious 
associations,  never  has  there  been  such  ease  of  communica- 
tion and  transit.  Modern  invention  has  given  its  aid  to 
the  natural  effort  of  human  beings  to  get  together.  The 
various  interests  that  produce  action  have  combined  to 
make  settlement  compact.  The  city  is  a  severe  test  of 
human  ability  to  live  peaceably  and  co-operatively  at 
close  quarters.  In  the  country  an  unfriendly  man  can 
live  by  himself  much  of  the  time;  in  the  city  he  is  con- 
tinually feeling  somebody's  elbows  in  his  ribs.  It  is  not 
strange  that  there  is  as  yet  much  crudeness  about  the 
city.  Its  growth  has  been  dominated  by  the  economic 
motive,  and  everything  has  been  sacrificed  to  the  desire 
to  make  money.  Dirty  slums,  crowded  tenements,  un- 
couth business  blocks,  garish  bill-boards  and  electric  signs, 
dumped  rubbish  on  vacant  lots,  constant  repairs  of  streets 
and  buildings — these  all  are  marks  of  crudity  and  experi- 
mentation, evidences  that  the  city  is  still  in  the  making. 
Many  of  the  weaknesses  that  appear  in  urban  society  can 
be  traced  to  this  situation  as  a  cause.  The  craze  for 
amusement  is  partly  a  reaction  from  the  high  speed  of 
modern  industry,  but  partly,  also,  a  social  delirium  pro- 
duced by  the  new  experience  of  the  social  whirl.  Natur- 
ally more  serious  efforts  are  neglected  for  a  time,  and 
institutions  of  long  standing,  like  the  family,  threaten  to 
go  to  pieces.  A  thought-provoking  lecture  or  a  sermon 
on  human  obligation  does  not  fit  in  with  the  mood  of  the 
thousands  who  walk  or  ride  along  the  streets,  searching 

294 


The  City  in  the  Making  295 

for  a  sensation.     The  student  who  looks  at  urban  society 
on  the  surface  easily  becomes  pessimistic. 

309.  Reasons  for  Optimism. — This  new  experience  of 
society  will  run  its  course.    Undoubtedly  there  will  go 
with  it  much  of  social  loss,  but  there  is  firm  ground  for 
believing  that  there  will  be  more  of  social  gain.     It  is  quite 
necessary  for  human  beings  to  learn  to  associate  inti- 
mately, for  population  is  steadily  increasing  and  modern 
civilization  makes  all  classes  and  all  nations  more  and 
more  dependent  on  one  another.     The  pace  of  life  will 
slow  down  after  a  time,  there  will  be  less  of  social  intoxica- 
tion, and  men  and  women  will  take  their  pleasures  more 
sanely.     Eventually  they  will  listen  to  a  message  that  is 
adapted  to  them,  however  serious  it  may  be.    One  of  the 
most  hopeful  factors  in  the  situation  is  the  presence  of 
individuals  and  organized  groups  who  are  able  to  diagnose 
present  conditions,  and  who  are  working  definitely  for 
their  improvement.     Much  of  modern  progress  is  conscious 
and  purposeful,  where  formerly  men  lived  blindly,  subject, 
as  they  believed,  to  the  caprice  of  the  gods.    We  know 
much  about  natural  law,  and  lately  we  have  learned  some- 
thing about  social  law;  with  this  knowledge  we  can  plan 
intelligently  for  the  future.    There  is  less  excuse  for  social 
failure  than  formerly.     Cities  are  learning  how  to  make 
constructive  plans  for  beautifying  avenues  and  residential 
sections,  and  making  efficient  a  whole  transportation  sys- 
tem; they  will  learn  how  to  get  rid  of  overcrowding,  misery, 
and  disease.     What  is  needed  is  the  will  to  do,  and  that 
will  come  with  experience. 

310.  Reasonable  Expectations  of  Improvement. — Any 
soundly  constructive  plan  waits  on  thorough  investigation. 
Such  an  organization  as  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  which 
is  gathering  all  sorts  of  data  about  social  conditions,  is 
supplying  just  the  information  needed  on  which  to  base 
intelligent  and  effective  action.     On  this  foundation  will 
come  the  slow  process  of  construction.    There  will  be 
diffusion  of  information,  an  enlistment  of  those  who  are 
able  to  help,  and  an  increased  co-operation  among  the 
numerous  agencies  of  philanthropy  and  reform.    The  most 


296        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

obvious  evils  and  those  that  seem  capable  of  solution  will 
be  attacked  first.  Intelligent  public  opinion  will  not  tol- 
erate the  continued  existence  of  curable  ills.  Pure  water, 
adequate  sewerage,  light,  and  air,  and  sanitary  conve- 
niences in  every  home  will  be  required  everywhere.  Com- 
munity physicians  and  nurses  will  be  under  municipal 
appointment  to  see  that  health  conditions  are  maintained, 
and  to  instruct  city  families  how  to  live  properly.  Voca- 
tional schools  and  courses  in  domestic  science  will  prepare 
boys  and  girls  for  marriage  and  the  home,  and  will  tend 
to  lessen  poverty.  Undoubtedly  the  time  will  come  when 
it  will  be  seen  clearly  that  the  interests  of  society  demand 
the  segregation  of  those  who  cannot  take  care  of  them- 
selves and  are  an  injury  to  others.  Hospitals  and  places 
of  detention  for  mental  and  moral  defectives,  and  the  vic- 
tims of  chronic  vice  and  intemperance,  as  well  as  criminals 
of  every  sort,  will  seem  natural  and  necessary.  Larger 
questions  of  immigration,  industrial  management,  and 
municipal  administration  will  be  studied  and  gradually 
solved  by  the  united  wisdom  of  city,  state,  and  nation. 

311.  Agencies  of  Progress  and  Gains  Achieved. — An 
examination  of  what  has  been  achieved  in  this  direction  by 
almost  any  one  of  the  larger  cities  in  the  United  States 
shows  encouraging  progress.  Smaller  cities  and  even  vil- 
lages have  made  use  of  electricity  for  h'ghting,  transporta- 
tion, and  telephone  service.  The  water  and  sewerage  sys- 
tems of  larger  centres  are  far  in  advance  of  what  they  were 
a  few  years  ago.  Bathrooms  with  open  plumbing  and 
greater  attention  to  the  preservation  of  health  have  sup- 
plemented more  thorough  efforts  to  the  spread  of  com- 
municable diseases.  Increasing  agitation  for  more  prac- 
tical education  has  led  to  the  creation  of  various  kinds  of 
vocational  schools,  including  a  large  variety  of  correspon- 
dence schools  for  those  who  wish  specific  training.  There 
are  still  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  who  enter  industrial 
occupations  in  the  most  haphazard  way,  and  yield  to 
irrational  impulse  in  choosing  or  giving  up  a  particular 
job  or  a  place  to  live  in;  similar  impulse  induces  them  to 
mate  in  the  same  haphazard  way,  and  as  lightly  to  separate 


The  City  in  the  Making  297 

if  they  tire  of  each  other;  but  the  very  fact  that  enlightened 
public  opinion  does  not  countenance  these  practices,  that 
there  are  social  agencies  contending  against  them,  and 
that  they  are  contrary  to  the  laws  of  happiness,  of  effi- 
ciency, and  even  of  survival,  makes  it  unlikely  that  such 
irrational  conduct  can  persist.  As  for  the  social  ills  that 
have  seemed  unavoidable,  like  sexual  vice,  current  inves- 
tigation and  agitation,  followed  by  increasing  legislation 
and  segregation  of  the  unfit,  promises  to  work  a  change, 
however  gradual  the  process  may  be.  Numerous  organ- 
izations are  at  work  in  the  fields  of  poverty,  immigration, 
the  industrial  problem,  reform  of  government,  penology, 
business,  education,  and  religion,  and  thousands  of  social 
workers  are  devoting  their  lives  to  the  betterment  of 
society. 

312.  Conference  and  Co-operation. — Improvement  will 
be  more  rapid  when  the  various  agencies  of  reform  have 
learned  to  pull  together  more  efficiently.  It  is  frequently 
charged  that  the  friction  between  different  temperance 
organizations  has  delayed  progress  in  solving  the  problem 
of  intemperance.  It  is  often  said  that  there  would  be  less 
poverty  if  the  various  charitable  agencies  would  every- 
where organize  and  work  in  association.  The  independent 
temper  of  Americans  makes  it  difficult  to  work  together, 
but  co-operation  is  a  sound  sociological  principle,  and 
experience  proves  that  such  principles  must  be  obeyed. 
If  the  principle  of  combination  that  has  been  applied  to 
business  should  be  carried  further  and  applied  to  the  prob- 
lems of  society,  there  can  be  no  question  that  results  would 
speedily  justify  the  action.  Perhaps  the  greatest  need  in 
the  city  to-day  is  a  union  of  resources.  If  an  honest  taxa- 
tion would  furnish  funds,  if  the  best  people  would  plan 
intelligently  and  unselfishly  for  the  city's  future  develop- 
ment, if  boards  and  committees  that  are  at  odds  would  get 
together,  there  is  every  reason  to  think  that  astonishing 
changes  for  the  better  would  soon  be  seen. 

Suppose  that  in  every  city  of  our  land  representatives 
of  the  chamber  of  commerce,  of  the  city  government,  of 
the  associated  charities,  of  the  school-teachers,  of  the  min- 


298        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

isters  of  the  city,  of  the  women's  clubs,  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association,  of  the  labor-unions,  and  of  the  agencies  that 
cater  to  amusement  should  sit  together  once  in  two  weeks 
in  conference  upon  the  interests  of  all  the  people  of  the 
city,  and  should  honestly  and  frankly  discuss  the  practical 
questions  that  are  always  at  the  fore  in  public  discussion, 
and  then  should  report  back  for  further  conference  in 
their  own  groups,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  various 
groups  would  have  a  far  better  understanding  and  appre- 
ciation of  one  another,  and  in  time  would  find  ways  and 
means  to  adopt  such  a  programme  as  might  come  out  of  all 
the  discussion. 

313.  The  Crucial  Test  of  Democracy. — World  events 
have  shown  clearly  since  the  outbreak  of  the  European  war 
that  intelligent  planning  and  persistent  enforcement  of  a 
political  programme  can  long  contend  successfully  against 
great  odds,  when  there  is  autocratic  power  behind  it  all. 
Democracy  must  show  itself  just  as  capable  of  planning 
and  execution,  if  it  is  to  hold  its  own  against  the  control 
of  a  few,  whether  plutocrats,  political  bosses,  or  a  central- 
ized state,  but  its  power  to  make  good  depends  on  the 
enlistment  of  all  the  abilities  of  city  or  nation  in  co-opera- 
tive effort.  There  is  no  more  crucial  test  of  the  ability  of 
democracy  to  solve  the  social  problems  of  this  age  than  the 
present-day  city.  The  social  problem  is  not  a  question  of 
politics,  but  of  the  social  sciences.  It  is  a  question  of  liv- 
ing together  peaceably  and  profitably.  It  involves  eco- 
nomics, ethics,  and  sociological  principles.  It  is  yet  to  be 
proved  that  society  is  ready  to  be  civilized  or  even  to  sur- 
vive on  a  democratic  basis.  The  time  must  come  when  it 
will,  for  associated  activity  under  the  self-control  of  the 
whole  group  is  the  logical  and  ethical  outcome  of  sound 
sociological  principle,  but  that  time  may  not  be  near  at 
hand.  If  democracy  in  the  cities  is  to  come  promptly  to 
its  own,  social  education  will  soon  change  its  emphasis 
from  the  material  gain  of  the  individual  to  co-operation 
for  the  social  good,  and  under  the  inspiration  of  this  idea 
the  various  agencies  will  unite  for  effective  social  service. 


The  City  in  the  Making  299 


READING  REFERENCES 

HOWE:  The  Modern  City  and  Its  Problems,  pages  367-376. 

GOODNOW:  City  Government  in  the  United  States,  pages  302-308. 

ELDRIDGE:  Problems  of  Community  Life,  pages  3-7. 

ELY:  The  Coming  City. 

Boston  Directory  of  Charities,  1914. 


PART  V— SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  NATION 

CHAPTER  XL 
THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 

314.  Questions  of  the  Larger  Group. — In  an>  study  of 
social  life  we  have  to  find  a  place  for  larger  groups  than 
the  family  and  the  neighborhood  or  even  the  city.    There 
are  national  units  and  even  a  certain  amount  of  interna- 
tional unity  in  the  world.     How  have  they  come  to  exist? 
What  are  the  interests  that  hold  them  together?    What 
are  the  forms  of  association  that  are  practicable  on  such  a 
large  scale?    Is  there  a  tendency  to  stress  the  control  of 
the  group  over  its  individual  members,  even  its  aristocracy 
of  birth  or  wealth  ?     These  are  questions  that  require  some 
sort  of  an  answer.     Beyond  them  are  other  questions  con- 
cerning the  relations  between  these  larger  groups.     Are 
there  common  interests  or  compelling  forces  that  have 
merged  hitherto  sovereign  states  into  federal  or  imperial 
union?    Is  it  conceivable  that  such  mutually  jealous  na- 
tions as  the  European  powers  may  surrender  willingly  their 
individual  interests  of  minor  importance  for  the  sake  of 
the  larger  good  of  the  whole  ?     Can  political  independence 
ever  become  subordinate  to  social  welfare  ?    Are  there  any 
spiritual  bonds  that  can  hold  more  strongly  than  national 
ambitions  and  national  pride?     Such  questions  as  these 
carry  the  student  of  society  into  a  wider  range  of  corporate 
life  than  the  average  man  enters,  but  a  range  of  life  in 
which  the  welfare  of  every  individual  is  involved. 

315.  The  Significance  of  National  Life. — The  nation  is 
a  group  of  persons,  families,  and  communities  united  for 
mutual  protection  and  the  promotion  of  the  general  wel- 
fare, and  recognizing  a  sovereign  power  that  controls  them 
all.     Some  nations  have  been  organized  from  above  in 

300 


The  Building  of  a  Nation  301 

obedience  to  the  will  of  a  successful  warrior  or  peaceful 
group;  others  have  been  organized  peacefully  from  below 
by  the  voluntary  act  of  the  people  themselves.  The  nation 
in  its  capacity  as  a  governing  power  is  a  state,  but  a  nation 
exercises  other  functions  than  that  of  control;  it  exists  to 
promote  the  common  interests  of  mankind  over  a  wider 
area  than  that  of  the  local  community.  The  historic  ten- 
dency of  nations  has  been  to  grow  in  size,  as  the  trans- 
mission of  ideas  has  become  easy,  and  the  extension  of 
control  has  been  made  widely  possible.  The  significance 
of  national  life  is  the  social  recognition  at  present  given  to 
community  of  interest  by  millions  of  individuals  who 
believe  that  it  is  profitable  for  them  to  live  under  the 
same  economic  regulations,  social  legislation,  and  educa- 
tional system,  even  though  of  mingled  races  and  with 
various  ideals. 

316.  How  the  Nation  Developed. — The  nation  in  em- 
bryo can  be  found  in  the  primitive  horde  which  was  made 
up  of  families  related  by  ties  of  kin,  or  by  common  lan- 
guage and  customs.  The  control  was  held  by  the  elderly 
men  of  experience,  and  exercised  according  to  unwritten 
law.  The  horde  was  only  loosely  organized;  it  did  not 
own  land,  but  ranged  over  the  hunting-grounds  within  its 
reach,  and  often  small  units  separated  permanently  from 
the  larger  group.  When  hunting  gave  place  to  the  domes- 
tication of  animals,  the  horde  became  more  definitely 
organized  into  the  tribe,  strong  leadership  developed  in 
the  defense  of  the  tribe's  property,  and  the  military  chief- 
tain bent  others  in  submission  to  his  will.  As  long  as 
land  was  of  value  for  pasturage  mainly,  it  was  owned  by 
the  whole  tribe  in  common.  When  agriculture  was  sub- 
stituted for  the  pastoral  stage  of  civilization,  the  tribe 
broke  up  by  clans  into  villages,  each  under  its  chief  and 
advisory  council  of  heads  of  families.  So  far  the  mode 
of  making  a  living  had  determined  custom  and  organization. 

Village  communities  may  remain  almost  unchanged  for 
centuries,  as  in  China,  or  here  and  there  one  of  them  may 
become  a  centre  of  trade,  as  in  mediaeval  Germany.  In 
the  latter  case  it  draws  to  itself  all  classes  of  people,  de- 


302       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

velops  wealth  and  culture,  and  presently  dominates  its 
neighbors.  Small  city  states  grew  up  in  ancient  time 
along  the  Nile  in  Egypt,  and  by  and  by  federated  under 
a  particularly  able  leader,  or  were  conquered  by  the  band 
of  an  ambitious  chieftain,  who  took  the  title  of  king.  In 
such  fashion  were  organized  the  great  kingdoms  and  em- 
pires of  antiquity. 

Social  disintegration  and  foreign  conquest  broke  up  the 
great  empires,  and  for  centuries  in  the  Middle  Ages  society 
existed  in  local  groups;  but  common  economic  and  racial 
interests,  together  with  the  political  ambition  of  princes 
and  nobles,  drew  together  semi-independent  principalities 
and  communes,  until  they  became  welded  into  real  nations. 
At  first  the  state  was  monarchical,  because  a  few  kings 
and  lords  were  able  to  dominate  the  mass,  and  because 
strength  and  authority  were  more  needed  than  privileges 
of  citizenship;  then  the  economic  interest  became  para- 
mount, and  merchants  and  manufacturers  demanded  a 
share  in  government  for  the  protection  of  their  interests. 
Education  improved  the  general  level  of  intelligence,  and 
invention  and  growing  commerce  improved  the  condition 
of  the  people  until  eventually  all  classes  claimed  a  right  to 
champion  their  own  interests.  The  most  progressive  na- 
tions racially,  politically,  and  economically,  outstripped 
the  others  in  world  rivalry  until  the  great  modern  nations, 
each  with  its  own  peculiar  qualities  of  efficiency,  overtopped 
their  predecessors  of  all  time. 

'317.  The  Story  of  the  United  States.— The  story  of 
national  life  in  the  United  States  is  especially  noteworthy. 
Within  a  century  and  a  half  the  people  of  this  country 
have  passed  through  the  economic  stages,  from  clearing 
the  forests  to  building  sky-scrapers;  in  government  they 
have  grown  from  a  few  jealous  seaboard  colonies  along  the 
Atlantic  to  a  solidly  welded  federal  nation  that  stretches 
from  ocean  to  ocean;  in  education  and  skill  they  have 
developed  from  provincial  hand-workers  to  expert  man- 
agers of  corporate  enterprises  that  exploit  the  resources  of 
the  world;  and  in  population  they  have  grown  from  four 
million  native  Americans  to  a  hundred  million  people, 


The  Building  of  a  Nation  303 

gathered  and  shaken  together  from  the  four  corners  of 
the  earth.  In  that  century  and  a  half  they  have  devel- 
oped a  new  and  powerful  national  consciousness.  When 
the  British  colonies  asserted  their  independence,  they  were 
held  together  by  their  common  ambition  and  their  common 
danger,  but  when  they  attempted  to  organize  a  govern- 
ment, the  incipient  States  were  unwilling  to  grant  to  the 
new  nation  the  powers  of  sovereignty.  The  Confederation 
was  a  failure.  The  sense  of  common  interest  was  not 
strong  enough  to  compel  a  surrender  of  local  rights.  But 
presently  it  appeared  that  local  jealousies  and  divisions 
were  imperilling  the  interests  of  all,  and  that  even  the 
independence  of  the  group  was  impossible  without  an 
effective  national  government.  Then  in  national  conven- 
tion the  States,  through  their  representatives,  sacrificed 
one  after  another  their  sovereign  rights,  until  a  respec- 
table nation  was  erected  to  stand  beside  the  powers  of 
Europe.  It  was  given  power  to  make  laws  for  the  regu- 
lation of  social  conduct,  and  even  of  interstate  commerce, 
to  establish  executive  authority  and  administrative,  judi- 
cial, and  military  systems,  and  to  tax  the  property  of  the 
people  for  national  revenue.  To  these  basic  functions 
others  were  added,  as  common  interests  demanded  encour- 
agement or  protection. 

318.  Tests  of  National  Efficiency. — Two  tests  came  to 
the  new  nation  in  its  first  century.  The  first  was  the  test 
of  control.  It  was  for  a  time  a  question  whether  the 
nation  could  extend  its  sovereignty  over  the  interior. 
State  claims  were  troublesome,  and  the  selfish  interests  of 
individuals  clashed  with  revenue  officers,  but  the  nation 
solved  these  difficulties.  The  second  test  was  the  test  of 
unity,  and  was  settled  only  after  civil  war.  Out  of  the 
struggle  the  nation  emerged  stronger  than  it  had  ever 
been,  because  henceforth  it  was  based  on  the  principle  of 
an  indissoluble  union.  With  its  second  century  have  come 
new  tests — the  test  of  absorbing  millions  of  aliens  in  speech 
and  habits,  the  test  of  wisely  governing  itself  through  an 
intelligent  citizenship,  the  test  of  educating  all  of  its  people 
to  their  political  and  social  responsibilities.  Whether 


304       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

these  tests  will  be  met  successfully  is  for  the  future  to 
decide,  but  if  the  past  is  any  criterion,  the  American 
republic  will  not  fail.  National  structures  have  risen  to  a 
certain  height  and  then  fallen,  because  they  were  not 
built  on  the  solid  foundations  of  mutual  confidence,  co- 
operation, and  loyalty.  Building  a  self-governing  nation 
that  will  stand  the  test  of  centuries  is  possible  only  for  a 
people  that  is  conscious  of  its  community  of  interests,  and 
is  willing  to  sacrifice  personal  preferences  and  even  per- 
sonal profits  for  the  common  good. 

READING  REFERENCES 

BRYCE:  The  American  Common-wealth  (Abridged  Edition),  pages 

3-21. 

DEALEY:  Development  of  the  State,  pages  26-48. 
BLUNTSCHLI:  Theory  of  the  State,  pages  82-102. 
MULFORD:  The  Nation,  pages  37H5o. 
BAGEHOT:  Physics  and  Politics,  pages  81-155. 
USHER:  Rise  of  the  American  People,  pages  151-167,  182-195,  269- 

281. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  PEOPLE 
AS   A  NATION 

319.  The  Reality  of  the  Nation. — Ordinarily  the  indi- 
vidual is  not  pressed  upon  heavily  by  his  national  relation- 
ships.    He  is  conscious  of  them  as  he  reads  the  newspaper 
or  goes  to  the  post-office,  but  except  at  congressional  or 
presidential  elections  they  are  not  brought  home  to  him 
vividly.     He  thinks  and  acts  in  terms  of  the  community. 
The  nation  is  an  artificial  structure  and  most  of  its  opera- 
tions are  centralized  at  a  few  points.    The  President  lives 
and  Congress  meets  at  the  national  capital.    The  depart- 
ments of  government  are  located  there,  and  the  Supreme 
Court  holds  its  sessions  in  the  same  city.    Here  and  there 
at  the  busy  ports  are  the  custom-houses,  with  their  revenue 
officers,  and  at  convenient  distances  are  district  courts  and 
United  States  officers  for  the  maintenance  of  national  order 
and  justice.     The  post-office  is  the  one  national  institution 
that  is  found  everywhere,  matched  in  ubiquity  only  by 
the  flag,  the  symbol  of  national  unity  and  strength.     But 
though  not  noticeably  exercised,  the  power  of  the  nation 
is  very  real.     There  is  no  power  to  dispute  its  legislation 
and  the  decisions  of  its  tribunals.     No  one  dares  refuse 
to  contribute  to  its  revenues,  whether  excise  tax  or  import 
duties.     No  one  is  unaware  that  a  very  real  nation  exists. 

320.  The  Social  Nature  of  the  Nation. — In  thinking  of 
the  nation  it  is  natural  to  consider  its  power  as  a  state, 
but  other  functions  belong  to  it  as  a  social  unit  that  are 
no  less  important.     Its  general  function  is  not  so  much 
to  govern  as  to  promote  the  general  welfare.    The  social 
nature  of  national  organization  is  well  expressed  in  the 
preamble  to  the  national  Constitution:  "We  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union, 

305 


306       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for 
the  common  defense,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and 
secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  pos- 
terity, do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the 
United  States  of  America."  The  general  welfare  is  a 
somewhat  vague  term,  but  it  includes  all  the  interests  of 
the  people,  and  so  indicates  the  scope  of  the  national 
function. 

321.  The    Economic    Function. — The    nation    has    an 
economic  function.     It  is  its  business  to  encourage  trade 
by  means  that  seem  most  likely  to  help,  whether  by  sub- 
sidies, tariffs,  or  expert  advice;  to  protect  all  producers, 
distributers,  and  consumers  by  just  laws  and  tribunals,  so 
that  unfair  privileges  shall  not  be  enjoyed  by  the  few  at 
the  expense  of  the  many,  and  to  provide  in  every  legiti- 
mate way  for  the  spread  of  information  and  for  experimen- 
tation that  agriculture,  mining,  and  manufacturing  may 
be  improved.     Evidences  of  the  attempt  of  the  United 
States  to  measure  up  to  these  responsibilities  are  the  vari- 
ous tariffs  that  have  been  established  for  protection  as 
well  as  revenue,  the  interstate  and  trade  commissions  that 
exist  for  the  regulation  of  business,  and  the  individuals 
and  boards  that  are  maintained  for  acquiring  and  dissem- 
inating information  relating  to  all  kinds  of  economic  inter- 
ests.   The  United  States  Patent  Office  encourages  inven- 
tion, and  American  inventors  outnumber  those  of  other 
nations.    The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
employs  many  experimenters  and  expert  agents  and  even 
distributes  seeds  of  a  good  quality,  in  order  that  one  of 
the  most  important  industries  of  the  American  people  may 
flourish.     At  times  some  of  the  national  machinery  has 
been  prostituted  to  private  gain,  and  there  is  always  dan- 
ger that  the  individual  will  try  to  prosper  at  the  expense 
of  society,  but  the  people  more  than  ever  before  are  con- 
scious that  it  is  the  function  of  the  nation  to  promote  the 
general  welfare,  and  private  interests,  however  powerful, 
must  give  heed  to  this. 

322.  Manufacturing  in  Corporations  and  Associations. 
— Back  of  all  organization  and  legislation  lies  a  real  na- 


Economic  and  Social  Functions  307 

tional  unity,  through  which  the  nation  exercises  indirectly 
an  economic  function.  In  spite  of  a  popular  jealousy  of 
big  business  in  the  last  decade,  there  is  a  pride  in  the 
ability  of  American  business  men  to  create  a  profitable 
world  commerce,  and  middle-class  people  in  well-to-do 
circumstances  subscribe  to  the  purchase  of  stocks  and 
bonds  in  trusted  corporations.  Without  this  general  in- 
terest and  participation  such  a  rapid  extension  of  indus- 
trial enterprise  could  not  have  taken  place.  Without  the 
lines  of  communication  that  radiate  from  great  commercial 
and  financial  centres,  without  the  banking  connections 
that  make  it  possible  for  the  fiscal  centres  to  support  any 
particular  institution  that  is  in  temporary  distress,  with- 
out the  consciousness  of  national  solidarity  in  the  great 
departments  of  business  life,  economic  achievement  in 
America  would  have  come  on  halting  feet.  This  unity  is 
fostered  but  not  created  by  government,  and  no  hostile 
government  can  destroy  it  altogether. 

To  further  economic  interests  throughout  the  nation  all 
sorts  of  associations  exist  and  hold  conventions,  from 
American  poultry  fanciers  to  national  banking  societies. 
Occasionally  these  associations  pool  their  interests  and 
advertise  their  concerns  through  a  national  exposition. 
In  this  way  they  find  it  possible  to  make  an  impression 
upon  thousands  of  people  whom  they  are  educating  indi- 
rectly through  the  printing-press.  It  would  be  an  inter- 
esting study  and  one  that  would  throw  light  on  the  com- 
plexity and  ubiquity  of  national  relations,  if  it  could  be 
ascertained  locally  how  many  individuals  are  connected 
with  such  national  organizations,  and  what  particular 
associations  are  most  popular.  If  this  examination  were 
extended  from  purely  economic  organizations  to  associa- 
tions of  every  kind,  we  should  be  able  to  gauge  more  accu- 
rately the  strength  of  national  influence  upon  social  life. 

323.  Health  Interests. — If  this  national  unity  exists  in 
the  economic  field  it  is  natural  to  expect  to  find  it  in  the 
less  material  interests  of  society.  The  sense  of  common 
interests  is  all-pervasive.  National  health  conditions  bring 
the  physicians  together  to  discuss  the  causes  and  the 


308       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

therapeutics.  How  to  keep  well  and  to  get  strong,  how  to 
dress  the  baby  and  to  bring  up  children  are  perennial  topics 
for  magazines  with  a  national  circulation.  Insurance  com- 
panies with  a  national  constituency  prescribe  physical 
tests  for  all  classes.  Government  takes  cognizance  of  the 
physical  interest  of  all  its  citizens,  and  passes  through  Con- 
gress pure-food  and  pure-drug  acts.  National  societies  of 
a  voluntary  nature  also  cater  to  health  and  happiness. 
Long-named  organizations  exist  for  moral  prophylaxis  and 
for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children  and  animals. 
Vigilance  associations  of  all  sorts  stand  guard  to  keep 
children  and  their  elders  from  contamination.  Society  pro- 
tects itself  over  wide  areas  through  such  associated  recog- 
nition of  the  mutual  interests  of  all  its  members. 

324.  National  Sport. — Recreation  and  sport  also  pre- 
sent national  features.  Every  new  phase  of  recreation 
from  playgrounds  to  philately  presently  has  its  country- 
wide association.  There  is  a  conscious  reaching  out  for 
wide  fellowship  with  those  who  are  interested  in  the  same 
pursuits.  The  attraction  of  like-mindedness  is  a  potent 
force  in  every  department  of  life.  Certain  forms  of  relax- 
ation or  spirited  rivalry  have  attained  to  the  dignity  of 
national  sports.  England  has  its  football,  Scotland  its 
golf,  Canada  its  lacrosse,  the  United  States  its  baseball. 
The  enthusiasm  and  excitement  that  hold  whole  cities  in 
thrall  as  a  national  league  season  draws  to  its  close,  is  a 
more  striking  phenomenon  than  Roman  gladiatorial  shows 
or  Spanish  bull-fights.  Persons  who  seldom  if  ever  attend 
a  game,  who  do  not  know  one  player  from  another,  wax 
eloquent  over  the  merits  of  a  team  that  represents  their 
own  city,  while  individuals  who  attain  to  the  title  of  "fans" 
handle  familiarly  the  details  of  the  teams  throughout  the 
league  circuit.  Why  should  Olympic  contests  held  in 
recent  years  between  representatives  of  different  nations, 
or  international  tennis  championships,  arouse  universal 
interest?  It  is  inexplicable  except  as  evidence  of  collec- 
tive consciousness  and  a  national  pride  and  loyalty. 

The  same  spirit  has  entered  into  university  athletics. 
The  great  universities  have  their  "rooters"  scattered  all 


Economic  and  Social  Functions  309 

over  the  land,  and  the  whole  nation  is  interested  in  the 
Thames  or  Henley  races  and  the  Poughkeepsie  regattas. 
There  are  intercollegiate  tennis  championships  and  chess 
tournaments,  football  contests  between  the  leaders  East 
and  West,  all-America  teams,  and  even  international 
rivalries. 

325.  The  Function  of  Education. — Nation-wide  ties  and 
loyalties  in  sport  do  not  call  for  the  official  action  of  the 
nation,  though  national  officials  as  individuals  are  often 
devoted  to  certain  sports,  but  the  nation  has  other  func- 
tions that  may  be  classed  as  social.  No  duty  is  more 
pressing,  not  even  that  of  efficient  government,  than  the 
task  of  education.  The  National  Bureau  of  Education 
supplemented  by  State  boards,  officially  takes  cognizance 
of  society's  educational  interests.  In  education  local  in- 
dependence plays  a  large  part,  but  it  is  the  function  of 
government  to  make  inquiry  into  the  best  theories  and 
methods  anywhere  in  vogue,  to  extend  information  to  all 
who  are  interested,  and  to  use  its  large  influence  toward 
the  adoption  of  improvements.  Government  in  certain 
States  of  the  American  Union  even  goes  so  far  as  to  co- 
operate with  local  communities  in  maintaining  joint  school 
superintendents  of  towns  or  counties.  It  is  appropriate 
that  a  democratic  nation  should  give  much  attention  to 
the  education  of  the  people  because  the  success  of  democ- 
racy depends  on  popular  intelligence. 

The  efforts  of  the  government  are  seconded  by  voluntary 
organization.  It  is  not  unusual  for  college  presidents  or 
ordinary  teachers  to  meet  in  conference  and  discuss  their 
difficulties  and  aspirations,  but  a  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation is  cumulative  evidence  that  Americans  think  in 
terms  of  a  continent,  and  that  their  interests  are  the  same 
educationally  in  all  parts  of  the  land.  It  is  no  less  true 
of  other  agencies  of  culture  than  the  schools.  Cultural 
associations  of  all  kinds  abound.  Some  of  them  are  lim- 
ited by  State  boundaries,  not  a  few  are  national  in  their 
scope.  There  is  a  national  Chautauqua;  institutes  with 
the  same  name  hold  their  sessions  all  over  the  land.  Music, 
art,  and  the  drama,  sometimes  the  same  organized  group 


310       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

of  artists,  appeal  to  appreciative  audiences  in  Boston,  New 
Orleans,  Chicago,  and  San  Francisco.  Popular  songs  from 
the  opera,  popular  dances  from  the  music-halls  sweep  the 
country  with  a  wave  of  imitative  enthusiasm.  There  are 
national  whims  and  national  tastes  that  chase  each  other 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  almost  as  fast  as  the  sun  moves  from 
meridian  to  meridian. 

326.  National  Philanthropy. — So  much  of  national  life 
is  voluntary  in  direction  and  organization  in  America,  as 
compared  with  Germany  or  Russia,  that  it  is  easy  to  over- 
look its  national  significance.     As  a  national  state  the 
United  States  does  not  attempt  philanthropy.    The  sep- 
arate States  have  their  asylums  as  they  have  penitentiaries 
and  reformatories,  but  the  nation  performs  no  such  func- 
tion.    Yet  philanthropic   organization  girdles  the  conti- 
nent.   The  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correc- 
tions is  one  instance  of  a  society  that  meets  annually  in 
the  interest  of  the  depressed  classes,  discusses  their  prob- 
lems, and  reports  its  findings  to  the  public  as  a  basis  for 
organized  activity.     Such  an  organization  not  only  repre- 
sents the  humanitarian  principles  and  interest  of  individ- 
uals here  and  there,  but  it  helps  to  bind  together  local 
groups  all  over  the  country  that  are  working  on  an  altru- 
istic basis.     Whole  sections  of  territory  join  in  discussing 
still  wider  human  interests.     The  Southern  Sociological 
Conference  appeals  to  the  whole  South  and  calls  upon  the 
rest  of  the  country  for  speakers  of  reputation  and  wisdom. 

327.  The  Federal  Council  of  Churches. — It  is  funda- 
mental to  the  spirit  and  word  of  the  American  Constitution 
that  church  and  state  shall  not  be  united,  but  this  does 
not  prevent  religious  interests  from  being  cherished  nation- 
ally, and  ecclesiastical  organizations  from  having  national 
affiliations.     Modern  churches  are  grouped  first  of  all  in 
denominations,  because  of  certain  peculiarities,  but  most 
of  the  denominations  have  spread  over  the  country  and 
propagated  their  type  as  opportunity  offered.     National 
conferences  and  conventions,  therefore,  take  place  regu- 
larly, bringing  together  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Bap- 
tists, or  Methodists,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  consider  the 


Economic  and  Social  Functions  311 

interests  that  are  most  vital  to  the  denomination  as  a 
whole,  or  which  the  denomination  as  a  whole,  in  place  of 
the  local  churches,  holds  within  its  sphere  of  control.  Pol- 
itics and  sectional  interests  have  sometimes  divided  de- 
nominations, large  bodies  have  sometimes  split  along  con- 
servative or  radical  lines,  but  the  national  ideal  has  never 
been  lost  sight  of,  and  national  organizations  enjoy  dig- 
nity and  prestige.  One  of  the  most  recent  illustrations  of 
a  still  broader  interest  and  deeper  consciousness  is  the 
federation  of  more  than  thirty  evangelical  Protestant  de- 
nominations for  better  acquaintance  and  larger  achieve- 
ment. Temporary  movements  and  even  a  definite  Evan- 
gelical Alliance  have  been  in  evidence  before,  but  now  has 
come  a  permanent  organization,  to  include  all  the  religious 
interests  that  can  be  held  in  common,  and  especially  to 
stress  the  more  ambitious  programme  of  social  regeneration. 
The  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
has  yet  to  prove  that  it  is  not  ahead  of  the  times,  but  it 
is  an  earnest  of  a  religious  interest  that  oversteps  the 
bounds  of  creed  and  denominational  organization  and  calls 
upon  the  various  divisions  of  the  Protestant  Church  to 
unite  for  a  national  campaign. 

328.  The  Scope  of  National  Life. — Social  life  in  the 
nation  is  not  confined  to  any  organization.  It  does  not 
wait  upon  government  to  perform  its  various  functions. 
It  goes  on  because  of  the  constant  flow  and  counterflow 
of  population  through  all  the  channels  of  acquaintance 
and  correspondence,  of  travel  and  trade.  People  feel  the 
need  of  one  another,  are  in  constant  touch  with  one  an- 
other, and  inevitably  are  continually  exchanging  commod- 
ities and  ideas.  Barriers  of  race  and  language,  of  tariff 
walls  and  national  conventions  stand  in  the  way  of  ex- 
change between  individuals  of  different  nations,  though  a 
strenuous  commercial  age  succeeds  in  making  breaches  in 
the  barriers,  but  opportunity  within  the  nation  is  free, 
and  such  natural  barriers  as  language  and  race  differences 
speedily  give  way  before  the  mutual  desires  of  the  native 
and  the  hyphenated  American. 


312       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

DEALEY:  Development  of  the  State,  pages  63-115. 

Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education. 

American  Year  Book,  1914,  passim. 

WARD:  Year  Book  of  the  Church  and  Social  Service,  1916,  pages  24-29. 


CHAPTER  XLH 
THE  STATE 

329.  The  State  and  Its  Sovereignty. — The  various  eco- 
nomic and  social  functions  that  are  exercised  by  the  people 
as  a  nation  can  be  performed  hi  an  orderly  and  effective 
way  only  when  the  people  are  organized  politically,  and 
the  nation  has  full  powers  of  sovereignty.     When  the  na- 
tion functions  politically  it  is  a  state.     States  may  be 
large  like  Russia,  or  small  like  Montenegro;  they  may 
have  full  sovereignty  like  Great  Britain,  or  limited  sov- 
ereignty like  New  York;  the  fact  that  they  exercise  politi- 
cal authority  makes  them  states.     It  is  conceivable  that 
this  political  authority  may  be  exercised  through  the  sheer 
force  of  public  opinion,  but  the  experience  of  the  newly 
organized  United  States  under  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion showed  that  national  moral  suasion  was  not  effective. 
History  seems  to  prove  that  society  needs  a  machinery  of 
government  able  to  legislate  and  enforce  its  laws,  and  the 
tendency  has  been  for  a  comparatively  small  number  of 
states  to  extend  their  authority  over  more  and  more  of 
the  earth's  surface.     This  has  become  possible  through  the 
maintenance  of  efficient  military  forces  and  wise  local  ad- 
ministration, aided  by  increasing  ease  of  communication 
and  transportation.     Once  it  was  a  question  whether  the 
United  States  could  enforce  its  law  as  far  away  as  western 
Pennsylvania;  now  Great  Britain  bears  unquestioned  sway 
over  the  antipodes.     Many  persons  look  forward  to  the 
time  when  the  people  of  all  nations  will  unite  hi  a  univer- 
sal state,  with  power  to  enforce  its  will  without  resort  to 
war. 

330.  Why  the  State  is  Necessary. — There  are  some 
persons,  commonly  known  as  anarchists,  who  do  not  be- 
lieve that  government  is  necessary.     They  would  have 

313 


314       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

human  relations  reduced  to  their  lowest  terms,  and  then 
trust  to  human  nature  to  behave  itself  properly.  There 
are  other  persons  known  as  Socialists,  who  would  have 
the  people  in  their  collective  capacity  exercise  a  larger 
control  than  now  over  human  action.  Neither  of  these 
classes  represents  the  bulk  of  society.  Common  sense  and 
experience  together  seem  to  demand  a  government  that 
will  exercise  a  reasonable  control,  and  by  reasonable  is 
meant  a  control  that  will  preserve  the  best  interests  of  all 
and  make  general  progress  possible.  The  political  func- 
tion of  the  nation  is  both  coercive  and  directive.  When 
we  think  of  a  state  we  naturally  think  of  the  power  that 
it  possesses  to  make  peace  or  war  with  foreign  powers, 
to  keep  order  within  the  nation,  to  enforce  its  authority 
over  any  individual  or  group  that  breaks  the  laws  that  it 
has  made;  but  while  such  power  of  control  is  essential 
and  its  exercise  often  spectacular,  it  is  paralleled  by  the 
directive  power.  There  are  many  social  relations  that 
need  definition  and  much  social  conduct  that  needs  direc- 
tion. A  man  and  a  woman  live  together  and  bring  up  a 
family  of  children.  Who  is  to  determine  their  legal  status, 
the  terms  of  marriage,  the  rights  of  parenthood,  the  claims 
of  childhood,  the  rights  and  obligations  of  the  family  as 
a  part  of  the  community?  The  family  accumulates  prop- 
erty in  lands,  houses,  and  movable  possessions.  Who  will 
make  the  acquisition  legal,  insure  property  protection,  and 
provide  legally  for  inheritance?  Every  individual  has  his 
personal  relation  to  the  state,  and  privileges  of  citizenship 
are  important.  Who  shall  determine  the  right  to  vote 
and  to  hold  office,  or  the  duty  to  pay  taxes  or  serve  in 
the  army  or  navy?  In  these  various  ways  the  state  is  no 
less  functioning  politically  for  the  benefit  of  the  people 
than  when  coercing  recalcitrant  citizens,  warning  or  fight- 
ing other  nations,  or  legislating  in  its  congressional  halls. 
Its  opportunity  to  regulate  the  social  interests  of  its  citi- 
zens is  almost  illimitable,  for  while  a  written  constitution 
may  prescribe  what  a  state  may  and  may  not  do,  those 
who  made  the  constitution  have  the  power  to  revise  it 
or  to  override  its  provisions. 


The  State  315 

331.  Theories  of  the  State. — Archaeological  and  histor- 
ical evidence  point  to  the  family  as  the  nursery  of  the 
state.     There  was  a  time  when  the  contract  theory  was 
popular.     It  was  believed  that  the  state  became  possible 
when  individuals  agreed  to  give  up  some  of  their  own  in- 
dividual rights  for  the  sake  of  living  in  peace  with  their 
neighbors  and  enjoying  mutual  protection.     There  is  no 
doubt  that  such  a  mutual  arrangement  was  made  in  the 
troublous  feudal  period  of  mediaeval  European  history, 
just  as  the  original  thirteen  American  colonies  gave  up 
some  of  their  individual  powers  to  make  possible  a  real 
American  state,  but  the  social-contract  theory  is  no  longer 
accepted  as  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  origin  of 
government.     There  was  no  Mayflower  compact  with  the 
bushmen  when  Englishmen  decided  to  live  with  the  natives 
in  Australia. 

There  is  another  theory  that  eminently  wise  men,  with 
or  without  divine  assistance,  formulated  law  and  govern- 
ment for  cities  and  tribes,  and  that  their  codes  were  defi- 
nitely accepted  by  the  people,  but  the  work  of  these  men, 
as  far  as  it  is  historical  at  all,  seems  to  have  been  a  work 
of  codifying  laws  which  had  grown  out  of  custom  rather 
than  of  making  new  laws.  Still  another  theory  that  was 
once  held  strenuously  by  a  few  was  that  of  the  divine 
right  of  kings,  as  if  God  had  given  to  one  dynasty  or  one 
class  the  right  to  rule  irresponsibly  over  their  fellows. 
Individual  political  philosophers,  like  the  Greek  Aristotle 
and  the  German  Bluntschli  have  published  their  theories, 
and  have  influenced  schools  of  publicists,  but  the  political 
science  of  the  present  day,  basing  its  theories  on  observed 
facts,  is  content  to  trace  the  gradual  changes  that  have 
taken  place  in  the  unconscious  development  of  the  past, 
and  to  point  out  the  possibilities  of  intelligent  progress  in 
future  evolution. 

332.  How  the  State  Came  to  Be. — The  true  story  of 
the  development  of  the  state  seems  to  have  been  as  fol- 
lows.    The  roots  of  the  state  are  in  the  family  group. 
When  the  family  expanded  into  the  tribe,  family  discipline 
and  family  custom  easily  passed  over  to  tribal  discipline 


316       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

and  tribal  custom,  strengthened  by  religious  superstition 
and  the  will  of  the  priest.  But  not  all  chieftains  and  all 
tribes  have  the  same  ability  or  the  same  disposition,  so 
that  while  political  custom  and  religious  sanctions  tended 
in  the  main  to  remain  unchanged,  an  occasional  exception 
upset  the  social  equilibrium.  Race  mixture  and  conflicting 
interests  compelled  organization  on  a  civil  rather  than  a 
tribal  basis.  Or  an  ambitious  prince  or  a  restless  tribe 
interfered  with  the  established  relations,  and  presently  a 
powerful  military  state  was  giving  law  to  subjugated  tribes. 
Egypt,  Persia,  Rome,  Turkey  have  been  such  states.  On 
a  larger  scale,  something  of  the  same  sort  has  happened 
in  the  conquest  of  outlying  parts  of  the  world  by  the  Euro- 
pean Powers,  until  one  man  in  Petrograd  can  give  law  to 
Kamchatka,  a  cabinet  in  London  can  determine  a  policy 
for  the  government  of  India,  or  the  United  States  Congress 
can  change  the  administration  of  affairs  in  the  Philippines. 
Military  power  has  been  the  weapon  by  which  authority 
has  been  imposed  from  without,  legislative  action  the  in- 
strument by  which  authority  has  been  extended  within. 

333.  The  Government  of  Great  Britain. — The  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain  is  one  of  the  best  concrete  examples 
of  the  growth  of  a  typical  state.  Its  Teutonic  founders 
learned  the  rudiments  of  government  in  the  German  for- 
ests, where  the  principles  of  democracy  took  root.  Mili- 
tary and  political  exigencies  gave  the  prince  large  power, 
but  the  people  never  forgot  how  to  exert  their  influence 
through  local  assembly  or  national  council.  In  the  thir- 
teenth century,  when  the  King  displeased  the  men  of  the 
nation,  they  demanded  the  privileges  of  Magna  Carta, 
and  when  King  and  lords  ruled  inefficiently,  the  common 
people  found  a  way  to  enlarge  their  own  powers.  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  townsmen  and  the  country  shires  took 
their  places  in  Parliament,  and  gradually,  with  growing 
wisdom  and  courage,  assumed  more  and  more  prerogatives. 
Three  times  in  the  seventeenth  century  Parliament  de- 
manded successfully  certain  rights  of  citizenship,  though 
once  it  had  to  fight  and  once  more  to  depose  a  king.  In 
the  nineteenth  century,  by  a  succession  of  reform  acts, 


The  State  317 

King  and  Parliament  admitted  tradesmen,  farmers,  and 
working  men  to  a  full  share  in  the  workings  of  the  state, 
and  only  recently  the  Commons  have  supplanted  the  Lords 
as  the  leading  legislative  body  of  the  nation.  The  story 
of  Great  Britain  is  a  tale  of  growing  democracy  and  in- 
creasing efficiency. 

The  story  of  local  government  and  the  story  of  imperial 
government  might  be  placed  side  by  side  with  the  story 
of  national  government,  and  each  would  reveal  the  politi- 
cal principles  that  have  guided  British  progress.  Social 
need,  patient  experiment,  and  growth  in  efficiency  are 
significant  phrases  that  help  to  explain  the  story.  Every 
nation  has  worked  out  its  government  in  its  own  way, 
interfered  with  occasionally  by  interested  parties  on  the 
outside,  but  the  general  line  of  progress  has  been  the  same 
— local  experimentation,  federation  or  union  more  often 
imposed  than  agreed  upon  by  popular  consent,  and  a  slow 
growth  of  popular  rights  over  government  by  a  privileged 
few.  Present  tendency  is  in  the  direction  of  safeguarding 
the  interests  of  all  by  a  fully  representative  government, 
in  which  the  individual  efficiency  of  prince  or  commoner 
alike  shall  have  due  weight,  but  no  one  sovereign  or  class 
shall  rule  the  people  as  a  whole. 

334.  The  Organization  of  Government. — The  political 
organization  depends  upon  the  functions  that  the  state 
has  to  perform,  as  the  structure  of  any  group  corresponds 
to  its  functions.  The  modern  national  machinery  is  a 
complicated  system,  and  is  becoming  more  so  as  consti- 
tutional conventions  define  more  in  detail  the  powers  and 
forms  of  government,  and  as  legislatures  enter  the  field  of 
social  reform,  but  the  simplest  attempt  at  regulation  in- 
volves several  steps,  and  so  naturally  there  are  several 
departments  of  government.  The  first  step  is  the  elec- 
tion of  those  who  are  to  make  the  laws.  Practically  all 
modern  states  recognize  the  principle  that  the  people  are 
at  least  to  have  a  share  in  government;  this  is  managed 
by  the  popular  election  of  their  representatives  in  the 
various  departments  of  government.  The  second  step  is 
lawmaking  by  the  representative  legislature,  congress,  or 


318       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

parliament,  usually  after  previous  deliberation  and  recom- 
mendation by  a  committee;  in  some  states  the  people  have 
the  right  by  referendum  to  ratify  or  reject  the  legislation, 
and  even  to  initiate  such  legislation  as  they  desire.  The 
third  step  is  the  arrangement  for  carrying  out  the  law  that 
has  been  passed.  This  is  managed  by  the  executive  de- 
partment of  the  government.  The  fourth  step  is  the 
actual  administration  of  law  and  government  by  officials 
who  are  sometimes  elected  and  sometimes  appointed,  and 
who  constitute  the  administrative  department  of  the  politi- 
cal organization.  A  fifth  step  is  the  passing  upon  law 
and  the  relation  of  an  individual  or  group  to  it  by  judicial 
officers  attached  to  a  system  of  courts.  These  depart- 
ments of  the  state,  with  whatever  auxiliary  machinery 
has  been  organized  to  assist  in  their  working,  make  up 
the  political  organization  of  the  typical  modern  state. 

335.  The  Electoral  System. — There  is  great  variety  in 
the  degree  of  self-government  enjoyed  by  the  people.  In 
the  most  advanced  nations  the  electoral  privileges  are 
widely  distributed,  in  the  backward  nations  it  is  only 
recently  that  the  people  have  had  any  voice  in  national 
affairs.  Usually  suffrage  is  reserved  for  those  who  have 
reached  adult  manhood,  but  an  increasing  number  of 
States  of  the  American  Union  and  several  foreign  nations 
have  admitted  women  to  equal  privileges.  Lack  of  prop- 
erty or  education  in  many  countries  is  a  bar  to  electoral 
privilege.  Pauperism  and  crime  and  sometimes  religious 
heterodoxy  disfranchise.  The  variety  and  number  of  offi- 
cials to  be  elected  varies  greatly.  The  head  of  the  nation 
in  the  states  of  the  Old  World  generally  holds  his  position 
by  hereditary  right,  and  he  has  large  appointive  power 
directly  or  indirectly.  In  some  states  the  judiciary  is 
appointed  rather  than  elected  on  the  ground  that  it  should 
be  above  the  influence  of  party  politics.  The  chief  power 
of  the  people  is  in  choosing  their  representatives  to  make 
the  laws.  Most  of  these  representatives  are  chosen  for 
short  terms  and  must  answer  to  the  people  for  their  politi- 
cal conduct;  by  these  means  the  people  are  actually  self- 
governing,  though  the  execution  of  the  law  may  be  in 


The  State  319 

the  hands  of  officers  whom  they  have  not  chosen.  Dem- 
ocratic government  is  nevertheless  subject  to  all  the  forces 
that  affect  large  bodies  exerted  through  party  organiza- 
tions, demagogues,  and  a  party  press,  but  even  opponents 
of  democracy  are  willing  to  admit  that  the  people  are 
learning  political  lessons  by  experience. 

336.  The  Legislative  System. — Legislation  by  repre- 
sentatives of  all  classes  of  the  people  is  a  new  political 
phenomenon  tried  out  most  thoroughly  among  the  large 
nations  by  Great  Britain,  France,  and  the  United  States. 
Even  now  there  is  much  distrust  of  the  ability  of  the  ordi- 
nary man  in  politics,  and  considerably  more  of  the  ordinary 
woman.  But  there  have  been  so  many  extraordinary  indi- 
viduals who  have  risen  to  political  eminence  from  the  com- 
mon crowd,  that  the  legislative  privilege  can  no  longer  be 
confined  to  an  aristocracy.  The  old  aristocratic  element  is 
represented  to-day  by  a  senate,  or  upper  house,  composed  of 
men  who  are  prominent  by  reason  of  birth,  wealth,  or  posi- 
tion, but  the  upper  house  is  of  minor  importance.  The  real 
legislative  power  rests  with  the  lower  chamber,  which  di- 
rectly represents  the  middle  and  lower  classes,  professional, 
business,  and  industrial.  The  action  of  lawmaking  bodies  is 
usually  limited  in  scope  by  the  provisions  of  a  written  con- 
stitution, and  is  modified  by  the  public  opinion  of  constitu- 
ents. Important  among  the  necessary  legislation  is  the 
regulation  of  the  economic  and  social  relations  of  individuals 
and  corporations,  provision  for  an  adequate  revenue  by 
means  of  a  system  of  taxation,  appropriation  for  the  main- 
tenance of  departments  of  government  and  necessary  public 
works,  and  the  determination  of  an  international  policy. 
In  the  United  States  an  elaborate  system  of  checks  and 
balances  gives  the  executive  a  provisional  veto  on  legislation, 
but  gives  large  advisory  powers  to  Congress.  In  Great 
Britain  the  executive  is  the  chief  of  the  dominant  party  in 
Parliament,  and  if  he  loses  the  confidence  of  the  legisla- 
tive body  he  loses  his  position  as  prime  minister  unless 
sustained  in  a  national  election. 

In  all  legislative  bodies  there  are  inevitable  differences 
of  opinion  and  conflicts  of  interests  resulting  in  party  divi- 


320        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

sions  and  such  opposite  groups  as  conservatives  and  radi- 
cals. The  formulation  and  pursuance  of  a  national  policy 
is,  therefore,  not  an  easy  task,  and  the  conflict  of  interests 
often  necessitates  compromise,  so  that  a  history  of  legisla- 
tion over  a  series  of  years  shows  that  national  progress  is 
generally  accomplished  by  liberalism  wresting  a  modicum 
of  power  from  conservatism,  then  giving  way  for  a  little 
to  a  period  of  reaction,  and  then  pushing  forward  a  step 
further  as  public  opinion  becomes  more  intelligent  or  more 
courageous. 

337.  The   Executive   Department. — Legislative   bodies 
occasionally  take  vacations;    the  executive  is  always  on 
duty  in  person  or  through  his  subordinates.     Popularly 
considered,  the  executive  department  of  government  con- 
sists of  the  president,  the  king,  or  the  prime  minister; 
actually  it  includes  an  advisory  council  or  cabinet,  which 
is  responsible  to  its  chief,  but  shares  with  him  the  task  of 
the  management  of  national  affairs.     The  executive  de- 
partment of  the  government  stands  in  relation  to   the 
people  of  the  nation  as  the  business  manager  of  a  corpo- 
ration stands  in  relation  to  the  stockholders.     He  must 
see  that  the  will  of  the  people,  as  expressed  by  their  repre- 
sentatives, is  carried  into  effect;  he  must  appoint  the  nec- 
essary administrative  officials  for  efficient  service;  he  must 
keep  his  finger  upon  the  pulse  of  the  nation,  and  use  his 
influence  to  hold  the  legislature  to  its  duty;  he  must  ap- 
prove or  veto  laws  which  are  sent  to  him  to  sign;  above 
all,  he  must  represent  his  nation  in  all  its  foreign  relations, 
appoint  the  personnel  of  the  diplomatic  force,  negotiate 
treaties,  and  help  to  form  the  international  law  of  the 
world.     It  is  the  business  of  the  executive  to  maintain  the 
honor  and  dignity  of  the  nation  before  the  world,  and  to 
carry  out  the  law  of  his  own  nation  if  it  requires  the  whole 
military  force  available. 

338.  Administrative  Organization. — The  executive  de- 
partment includes  the  advisers  of  the  head,  who  constitute 
the  cabinet.     In  Europe  the  cabinet  is  responsible  to  the 
sovereign  or  the  parliament,  and  the  members  usually  act 
unitedly.     In  the  United  States  they  are  appointed  by  the 


The  State  321 

President,  and  are  individually  responsible  to  him  alone. 
In  their  capacity  as  a  cabinet  they  help  to  formulate  na- 
tional policy,  and  their  influence  in  legislation  and  in 
moulding  public  opinion  is  considerable,  but  their  chief 
function  is  in  administering  the  departments  of  which 
they  have  charge.  It  is  the  custom  for  the  heads  of  the 
chief  departments  of  government  to  constitute  the  cabi- 
net, but  their  number  differs  in  different  states,  and  titles 
vary,  also.  In  general,  the  department  of  state  or  foreign 
affairs  ranks  first  in  importance,  and  its  secretary  is  in 
charge  of  all  correspondence  with  the  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nation  located  in  the  world's  capitals; 
the  department  of  the  treasury  or  the  exchequer  is  usually 
next  in  importance;  others  are  the  departments  of  the 
army  and  navy,  of  colonial  possessions,  of  manufacturing 
and  commerce,  mining,  or  agriculture,  of  public  utilities, 
of  education  or  religion,  and  for  judicial  business.  Each 
of  these  has  its  subordinate  bureaus  and  an  army  of  civil- 
service  officials,  some  of  whom  owe  their  appointment  to 
personal  influence,  others  to  real  ability.  The  civil  offi- 
cials with  which  the  public  is  most  familiar  are  postal  em- 
ployees, officers  of  the  federal  courts,  and  revenue  officials. 
Such  persons  usually  hold  office  while  their  party  is  in 
power  or  during  good  behavior.  Long  tenure  of  office 
tends  to  conservative  measures  and  the  spirit  of  bureau- 
cracy, while  a  system  by  which  civil  office  is  regarded  as 
party  spoil  tends  to  corruption  and  inefficiency.  The 
business  of  administration  is  becoming  increasingly  im- 
portant in  the  modern  state. 

339.  The  Judicial  System. — There  is  always  danger 
that  law  may  be  misinterpreted  or  prove  unconstitutional. 
It  is  the  function  of  the  judicial  department  of  govern- 
ment to  make  decisions,  interpreting  and  applying  the 
law  of  the  nation  in  particular  cases  brought  before  the 
courts.  The  law  of  the  nation  is  superior  to  all  local  or 
sectional  law;  so  is  the  national  judiciary  supreme  in  its 
authority  and  national  in  its  jurisdiction.  The  judicial 
system  of  the  United  States  includes  a  series  of  courts 
from  the  lowest  district  courts,  which  are  located  through- 


322       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

out  the  country,  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  Washington, 
which  deals  with  the  most  momentous  questions  of  na- 
tional law.  In  the  United  States  the  judicial  system  is 
complicated  by  a  system  of  lesser  courts,  State  and  local, 
independent  of  federal  control,  attached  to  which  is  a 
body  of  police,  numerous  judges,  juries,  and  lawyers;  the 
higher  courts  also  have  their  justices  and  practising  law- 
yers, but  there  is  less  haste  and  confusion  and  greater  dig- 
nity and  ability  displayed.  There  has  been  much  criticism 
in  recent  years  of  antiquated  forms  of  procedure,  cum- 
brous precedent,  and  unfair  use  of  technicalities  for  the 
defeat  of  justice,  but  however  imperfect  judicial  practice 
may  be,  the  system  is  well  intrenched  and  is  not  likely  to 
be  changed  materially. 

340.  The  Relation  of  National  to  District  Governments. 
—In  some  nations  there  are  survivals  of  older  political 
divisions  which  once  possessed  sovereignty,  but  which  have 
sacrificed  most,  if  not  all,  of  it  for  the  larger  good.  This 
is  the  case  in  such  federal  states  as  the  German  Empire, 
Switzerland,  and  the  United  States.  Each  State  in  the 
American  nation  retains  its  own  departments  of  govern- 
ment, and  so  has  its  governor  and  heads  of  departments, 
its  two-chambered  legislature,  and  its  State  judiciary. 
State  law  and  State  courts  are  more  familiar  to  the  people 
than  most  of  the  national  legislation.  In  the  German 
Empire  each  state  has  its  own  prince,  and  in  many  respects 
is  self-governing,  but  has  been  more  and  more  sinking  its 
own  individuality  in  the  empire.  In  the  British  Empire 
there  is  still  another  relation.  England,  Wales,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland  were  once  independent  of  each  other,  but 
military  and  dynastic  events  united  them.  For  local 
legislation  and  administration  they  tend  to  separate,  and 
already  Ireland  has  obtained  home  rule.  Beyond  seas  a 
colonial  empire  has  arisen,  and  certain  great  dominions 
are  united  by  little  more  than  ties  of  blood  and  loyalty 
to  the  mother  country.  Canada,  Australia,  and  South 
Africa  have  gained  a  larger  measure  of  sovereignty.  India 
is  held  as  an  imperial  possession,  but  even  there  experi- 
ments of  self-government  are  being  tried.  The  whole  ten- 


The  State  323 

dency  of  government,  both  here  and  abroad,  seems  to  be 
to  leave  matters  of  local  concern  largely  to  the  local  com- 
munity and  matters  that  belong  to  a  section  or  subordinate 
state  to  that  district,  and  to  centralize  all  matters  of  na- 
tional or  interstate  concern  in  the  hands  of  a  small  body 
of  men  at  the  national  capital.  In  every  case  national  or 
imperial  authority  is  the  court  of  last  resort. 

READING  REFERENCES 

BLISS:  New  Encyclopedia  of  Social  Reform,  art.  "Anarchism." 
DEALEY:  Development  of  the  State,  pages  127-234. 
WILSON:  The  State,  pages  555-571. 
BLUNTSCHLI:  Theory  of  the  State,  pages  61-73. 
Constitution  of  the  United  States, 

BRYCE:  The   American   Commonwealth   (abridged  edition),  pages 
22-242,  287-305. 


CHAPTER  XLIH 
PROBLEMS  OF  THE  NATION 

341.  Government  as  the  Advance  Agent  of  Prosperity. 
—It  is  common  philosophy  that  society  owes  every  man 
a  living,  and  it  seems  to  be  a  common  belief  that  the  gov- 
ernment owes  every  man  a  job.     There  are,  of  course, 
only  a  few  government  positions,  and  these  are  rushed 
after  by  a  swarm  of  office-seekers,  but  campaign  orators 
have  talked  so  much  about  a  full  dinner  pail  and  the  gov- 
ernment as  the  advance  agent  of  prosperity,  that  there 
seems  to  be  a  popular  notion  that  the  government,  as  if 
by  a  magician's  wand,  could  cure  unemployment,  allay 
panics,  dispel  hard  times,  and  increase  a  man's  earning 
power  at  will.     A  little  familiarity  with   economic   law 
ought  to  modify  this  notion,  but  it  is  difficult  to  eradicate 
it.     Society  cannot,   through  any  one  institution,   bring 
itself  to  perfection;  many  elements  enter  into  the  making 
of  prosperity.     It  depends  on  individual  ability  and  train- 
ing for  industry,  on  an  understanding  of  the  laws  of  health 
and  keeping  the  body  and  brain  in  a  state  of  efficiency,  on 
peaceful  relations  between  groups,  on  the  successful  bal- 
ancing of  supply  and  demand,  and  of  wages  and  the  cost 
of  living,  on  personal  integrity  and  group  co-operation. 
All  that  the  government  can  do  is  to  instruct  and  stimu- 
late.    This  it  has  been  doing  and  will  continue  to  do  with 
growing  effectiveness,  but  it  has  to  feel  its  way  and  learn 
by  experience,  as  do  individuals. 

342.  How  It  Has  Met  Its  Responsibility. — This  prob- 
lem of  prosperity  which  is  both  economic  and  social,  is 
the  concern  of  all  the  people  of  the  nation,  and  any  at- 
tempt to  solve  it  in  the  interest  of  one  section  or  a  single 
group  cannot  bring  success.     That  is  one  reason  for  many 
of  the  social  weaknesses  everywhere  visible.     Government 

324 


Problems  of  the  Nation  325 

has  legislated  in  the  interests  of  a  group  of  manufacturers, 
or  the  courts  have  favored  the  rich,  or  trusts  have  been 
attacked  at  the  demands  of  a  reforming  party,  or  labor 
has  been  immune  from  the  application  of  a  law  against 
conspiracy  when  corporations  were  hard  hit.  These  weak- 
nesses, which  are  characteristic  of  American  democracy, 
find  their  parallels  in  all  countries  where  modern  indus- 
trial and  social  conditions  obtain.  But  government  has 
lent  its  energies  to  the  upbuilding  of  a  sound  social  struc- 
ture. It  has  recognized  the  need  of  education  for  the 
youth  of  the  land  at  a  minimum  cost,  and  the  States  of 
the  American  Union  have  made  liberal  grants  for  both 
academic  and  special  training  to  their  State  universities, 
agricultural  colleges,  and  normal  schools.  It  encourages 
the  country  people  to  enrich  their  life  and  to  increase  their 
earnings  for  their  own  sake  and  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
people  who  are  dependent  upon  them.  It  stimulates  im- 
proved processes  in  manufacturing  and  mining,  and  pro- 
tects business  against  foreign  competition  by  a  tariff  wall; 
it  tries  to  prevent  recurring  seasons  of  financial  panics  by 
a  stable  currency  and  the  extension  of  credits.  It  provides 
the  machinery  for  settling  labor  difficulties  by  conciliation 
and  arbitration,  and  tries  to  mediate  between  gigantic 
combinations  of  trade  and  transportation  and  the  public. 
It  has  pensioned  liberally  its  old  soldiers.  It  has  attempted 
to  find  a  method  of  taxation  that  would  not  bear  heavily 
on  its  citizens,  but  that  at  the  same  time  would  provide 
a  sufficient  revenue  to  meet  the  enormous  expense  of  cater- 
ing to  the  multifarious  interests  of  a  population  of  a  hun- 
dred million  people. 

343.  The  Problem  of  Democracy. — The  problem  of 
prosperity  is  complicated  by  the  problem  of  democracy. 
If  by  a  satisfactory  method  a  body  of  wise  men  could  be 
selected  to  study  carefully  each  specific  problem  involved, 
could  experiment  over  a  term  of  years  in  the  execution  of 
plans  worked  out  free  from  fear  of  being  thrown  out  at 
any  time  as  the  result  of  elective  action  by  an  impatient 
people,  prosperity  might  move  on  more  rapid  feet.  In  a 
country  where  power  is  in  the  hands  of  a  few  a  specific 


326       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

programme  can  be  worked  out  without  much  friction  and 
rapid  industrial  and  social  progress  can  be  made,  as  has 
been  the  case  during  the  last  fifty  years  in  Germany;  but 
where  the  masses  of  the  people  must  be  consulted  and 
projects  depend  for  success  upon  their  sustained  approval, 
progress  is  much  more  spasmodic  and  uncertain.  Every- 
thing depends  on  an  intelligent  electorate,  controlled  by 
reason  rather  than  emotion  and  patient  enough  to  await 
the  outcome  of  a  policy  that  has  been  inaugurated. 

This  raises  the  question  as  to  the  education  of  the 
electorate  or  the  establishment  of  an  educational  quali- 
fication, as  in  some  States.  Is  there  any  way  by  which 
the  mass  of  the  working  people,  who  have  only  an  elemen- 
tary education,  and  never  see  even  the  outside  of  a  State 
university,  can  be  made  intelligent  and  self-restrained? 
They  will  not  read  public  documents,  whether  reports  of 
expert  commissions  or  speeches  in  Congress.  Shall  they 
be  compelled  to  read  what  the  government  thinks  is  for 
their  good,  or  be  deprived  of  the  suffrage  as  a  penalty? 
They  get  their  political  opinions  from  sensational  journals. 
Shall  these  publications  be  placed  under  a  ban  and  the 
nation  subsidize  its  own  press  ?  These  are  questions  to  be 
considered  by  the  educational  departments  of  State  and 
nation,  with  a  view  to  a  more  intelligent  citizenship. 
Democracy  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  failure,  but  it  is  still  a 
problem.  Government  will  not  be  any  better  than  the 
majority  of  the  citizens  want  it  to  be;  hence  its  standards 
can  be  raised  only  as  the  mental  and  moral  standards  of 
the  electorate  are  elevated.  Education,  a  conscious  share 
in  the  responsibility  of  legislation,  and  sure  justice  in  all 
controverted  cases,  whether  of  individuals  or  classes,  are 
necessary  elements  in  winning  even  a  measure  of  success. 

344.  The  Race  Problem. — The  difficulties  of  American 
democracy  are  enormously  enhanced  by  the  race  problem. 
If  common  problems  are  to  be  solved,  there  must  be  com- 
mon interests.  The  population  needs  to  be  homogeneous, 
to  be  seeking  the  same  ends,  to  be  conscious  of  the  same 
ideals.  Not  all  the  races  of  the  world  are  thus  homo- 
geneous; it  would  be  difficult  to  think  of  Englishmen,  Rus- 


Problems  of  the  Nation  327 

sians,  Chinese,  South  Americans,  and  Africans  all  working 
with  united  purpose,  inspired  by  the  same  ideals,  yet  that 
is  precisely  what  is  expected  in  America  under  the  tutelage 
and  leadership  of  two  great  political  parties,  not  always 
scrupulous  about  the  methods  used  to  obtain  success  at 
the  polls.  It  is  rather  astonishing  that  Americans  should 
expect  their  democracy  to  work  any  better  than  it  does 
when  they  remember  the  conditions  under  which  it  works. 
To  hand  a  man  a  ballot  before  he  feels  himself  a  part  of 
the  nation  to  which  he  has  come,  before  he  is  stirred  to 
something  more  than  selfish  achievement,  before  he  is 
conscious  of  the  real  meaning  of  citizenship,  is  to  court 
disaster,  yet  in  being  generous  with  the  ballot  the  people 
of  America  are  arming  thousands  of  ignorant,  irrespon- 
sible immigrants  with  weapons  against  themselves. 

The  race  problem  of  America  is  not  at  all  simple.  It  is 
more  than  a  problem  of  immigration.  The  problem  of  the 
European  immigrant  is  one  part  of  it.  There  is  also  the 
problem  of  the  relation  of  the  American  people  to  the  yellow 
races  at  our  back  door,  and  the  problem  of  the  negro,  who 
is  here  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  but  who,  because  he  is 
here,  must  be  brought  into  friendly  and  helpful  relation  with 
the  rest  of  the  nation. 

345.  The  Problem  of  the  European  Immigrant. — The 
problem  of  the  European  immigrant  is  one  of  assimilation. 
It  is  difficult  because  the  alien  comes  in  such  large  num- 
bers, brings  with  him  a  different  race  heritage,  and  settles 
usually  among  his  own  people,  where  American  influence 
reaches  him  only  at  second  hand.  Environment  may  be 
expected  to  change  him  gradually,  the  education  of  his 
children  will  modify  the  coming  generation,  but  it  will  be 
a  slow  task  to  make  him  over  into  an  American  in  ideals 
and  modes  of  thinking,  as  well  as  in  industrial  efficiency, 
and  in  the  process  the  native  American  is  likely  to  suffer 
loss  in  the  contact,  with  a  net  lowering  of  standards  in 
the  life  of  the  American  people.  To  see  the  danger  is 
not  to  despair  of  escaping  it.  To  understand  the  danger 
is  the  first  step  in  providing  a  safeguard,  and  to  this  end 
exact  knowledge  of  the  situation  should  be  a  part  of  the 


328       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

teaching  of  the  schools.  To  seek  a  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem is  the  second  step.  The  main  agency  is  education, 
but  this  does  not  mean  entirely  education  in  the  schools. 
Education  through  social  contact  is  the  principal  means 
of  assimilating  the  adult;  for  this  purpose  it  is  desirable 
that  some  means  be  found  for  the  better  distribution  of 
the  immigrant,  and  as  immigration  is  a  national  problem, 
it  is  proper  for  the  national  government  to  attack  that 
particular  phase  of  it.  Then  it  belongs  to  voluntary  agen- 
cies, like  settlements,  churches,  and  philanthropic  and 
educational  societies  to  give  instruction  in  the  essentials  of 
language,  civics,  industrial  training,  and  character  build- 
ing. For  the  children  the  school  provides  such  education, 
but  voluntary  agencies  may  well  supplement  its  secular 
training  with  more  definite  and  thorough  instruction  in 
morals  and  religion.  It  cannot  be  expected  that  the  immi- 
grant problem  will  settle  itself;  at  least,  a  purposeful  policy 
wisely  and  persistently  carried  out  will  accomplish  far 
better  and  quicker  results.  Nor  is  it  an  insoluble  prob- 
lem; it  is  not  even  necessary  that  we  should  severely  check 
immigration.  But  there  is  need  of  intelligent  and  co- 
operative action  to  distribute,  educate,  and  find  a  suit- 
able place  for  the  immigrant,  that  he  may  make  good, 
and  to  devise  a  restrictive  policy  that  will  effectually 
debar  the  most  undesirable,  and  will  hold  back  the  vast 
stream  of  recent  years  until  those  already  here  have  been 
taken  care  of. 

346.  The  Problem  of  the  Asiatic  Immigrant. — The 
problem  of  the  Asiatic  immigrant  is  quite  different.  It  is 
a  problem  of  race  conflict  rather  than  of  race  assimilation. 
The  student  of  human  society  cannot  minimize  the  im- 
portance of  race  heredity.  In  the  case  of  the  European 
it  holds  a  subordinate  place,  because  the  difference  be- 
tween his  heritage  and  that  of  the  American  is  compara- 
tively slight.  But  the  Asiatic  belongs  to  a  different  race, 
and  the  century-long  training  of  an  entirely  different  en- 
vironment makes  it  improbable  that  the  Asiatic  and  the 
American  can  ever  assimilate.  Each  can  learn  from  the 
other  and  co-operate  to  mutual  advantage,  but  race  amal- 


Problems  of  the  Nation  329 

gamation,  or  even  a  fusion  of  customs  of  thought  and 
social  ideals  is  altogether  unlikely.  It  is  therefore  not  to 
the  advantage  of  either  American  or  Asiatic  that  much 
Asiatic  immigration  into  the  United  States  should  take 
place.  To  agree  to  this  is  not  to  be  hostile  to  or  scornful 
of  the  yellow  man.  The  higher  classes  are  fully  as  intel- 
ligent and  capable  of  as  much  energy  and  achievement 
as  the  American,  but  the  vast  mass  of  those  who  would 
come  here  if  immigration  were  unrestricted  are  undesirable, 
because  of  their  low  industrial  and  moral  standards,  their 
tenacity  of  old  habits,  and  with  all  the  rest  because  of 
their  immense  numbers,  that  would  overrun  all  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  United  States.  When  the  Chinese  Exclu- 
sion Act  passed  Congress  in  1882,  the  Chinese  alone  were 
coming  at  the  rate  of  nearly  forty  thousand  a  year,  and 
that  number  might  have  been  increased  tenfold  by  this 
time,  to  say  nothing  of  Japanese  and  Hindoos.  While, 
therefore,  the  United  States  must  treat  Asiatics  with  con- 
sideration and  live  up  to  its  treaty  obligations,  it  seems 
the  wise  policy  to  refuse  to  admit  the  Asiatic  masses  to 
American  residence. 

A  part  of  the  Asiatic  problem,  however,  is  the  political 
relation  of  the  United  States  and  the  Asiatic  Powers, 
especially  in  the  Pacific.  This  is  less  intimately  vital, 
but  is  important  in  view  of  the  rapidly  growing  tendency 
of  both  China  and  Japan  to  expand  in  trade  and  political 
ambitions.  This  is  a  problem  of  political  rather  than 
social  science,  but  since  the  welfare  of  both  races  is  con- 
cerned, and  of  other  peoples  of  the  Pacific  Islands,  it  needs 
the  intelligent  consideration  of  all  students.  It  is  desir- 
able to  understand  one  another,  to  treat  one  another  fairly 
and  generously,  and  to  find  means,  if  possible,  of  co- 
operation rather  than  conflict,  where  the  interests  of  one 
impinge  upon  another.  All  mediating  influences,  like 
Christian  missions,  are  to  be  welcomed  as  helping  to  ex- 
tend mutual  understanding  and  to  soften  race  prejudices 
and  animosities. 

347.  The  Negro  Problem. — Not  a  few  persons  look 
upon  the  negro  problem  as  the  most  serious  social  ques- 


330       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

tion  in  America.  Whatever  its  relative  merits,  as  com- 
pared with  other  problems,  it  is  sufficiently  serious  to 
call  for  careful  study  and  an  attempt  at  solution.  The 
negro  race  in  America  numbers  approximately  ten  mil- 
lions, twice  as  many  as  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  The 
negro  was  thrust  upon  America  by  the  cupidity  of  the 
foreign  slave-trader,  and  perpetuated  by  the  difficulty  of 
getting  along  without  him.  His  presence  has  been  in 
some  ways  beneficial  to  himself  and  to  the  whites  among 
whom  he  settled,  but  it  has  been  impossible  for  two  races 
so  diverse  to  live  on  a  plane  of  equality,  and  the  burden 
of  education  upon  the  South  has  been  so  heavy  and  the 
race  qualities  of  the  negro  so  discouraging,  that  progress 
in  the  solution  of  the  negro  problem  has  been  slow. 

The  problem  of  the  colored  race  is  not  one  of  assimila- 
tion or  of  conflict.  In  spite  of  an  admixture  of  blood  that 
affects  possibly  a  third  of  the  American  negroes,  there 
never  will  be  race  fusion.  Assimilation  of  culture  was 
partly  accomplished  in  slave  days,  and  it  will  go  on.  There 
is  no  serious  conflict  between  white  and  colored,  when 
once  the  question  of  assimilation  is  understood.  The  prob- 
lem is  one  of  race  adjustment.  Fifty  years  have  been  in- 
sufficient to  perfect  the  relations  between  the  two  races, 
but  since  they  must  live  together,  it  is  desirable  that  they 
should  come  to  understand  and  sympathize  with  each 
other,  and  as  far  as  possible  co-operate  for  mutual  ad- 
vancement. The  problem  is  a  national  one,  because  the 
man  of  color  is  not  confined  to  the  South,  and  even  more 
because  the  South  alone  is  unable  to  deal  adequately  with 
the  situation.  The  negro  greatly  needs  efficient  social 
education.  He  tends  to  be  dirty,  lazy,  and  improvident, 
as  is  to  be  expected,  when  left  to  himself.  Like  all  coun- 
trymen— a  large  proportion  live  in  the  country — he  is 
backward  in  ways  of  thinking  and  methods  of  working. 
He  is  primitive  in  his  passions  and  much  given  to  emotion. 
He  shows  the  traits  of  a  people  not  far  removed  from  sav- 
agery. It  is  remarkable  that  his  white  master  was  able 
to  civilize  him  as  much  as  he  did,  and  it  is  not  strange 
that  there  has  been  many  a  relapse  under  conditions  of 


Problems  of  the  Nation  331 

unprepared  freedom,  but  it  is  only  the  more  reason  why 
negro  character  should  be  raised  higher  on  the  foundation 
already  laid. 

The  task  is  not  very  different  from  that  which  is  pre- 
sented by  the  slum  population  of  the  cities  of  the  North. 
The  children  need  to  be  taught  how  to  live,  and  then 
given  a  chance  to  practise  the  instruction  in  a  decent 
environment.  They  need  manual  and  industrial  training 
fitted  to  their  industrial  environment,  and  every  oppor- 
tunity to  employ  their  knowledge  in  earning  a  living. 
They  need  noble  ideals,  and  these  they  can  get  only  by 
the  sympathetic,  wise  teaching  of  their  superiors,  whether 
white  or  black.  They  and  their  friends  need  patience  in 
the  upward  struggle,  for  it  will  not  be  easy  to  socialize 
and  civilize  ten  million  persons  in  a  decade  or  a  century. 
Such  institutions  as  Hampton  and  Tuskegee  are  working 
on  a  correct  basis  in  emphasizing  industrial  training;  these 
schools  very  properly  are  supplemented  by  the  right  kind 
of  elementary  schools,  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  cultural 
institutions  of  high  grade  on  the  other,  for  the  negro  is  a 
human  being,  and  his  nature  must  be  cultivated  on  all 
sides,  as  much  as  if  he  were  white. 

348.  The  Race  Problem  a  Part  of  One  Great  Social 
Problem. — The  race  problem  as  a  whole  is  not  peculiar  to 
America,  but  is  intensified  here  by  the  large  mixture  of  all 
races  that  is  taking  place.  It  is  inevitable,  as  the  world's 
population  shifts  in  meeting  the  social  forces  of  the  present 
age.  It  is  complicated  by  race  inequalities  and  race  am- 
bitions. It  is  fundamentally  a  problem  of  adjustment  be- 
tween races  that  possess  a  considerable  measure  of  civiliza- 
tion and  those  that  are  not  far  removed  from  barbarism. 
It  is  discouraging  at  times,  because  the  supposedly  cultured 
peoples  revert  under  stress  of  war  or  competition  or  self- 
indulgence  to  the  crudities  of  primitive  barbarism,  but 
it  is  a  soluble  problem,  nevertheless.  The  privileged 
peoples  need  a  solemn  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  the 
"white  man's  burden,"  which  is  not  to  cultivate  the  weaker 
man  for  the  sake  of  economic  exploitation,  but  to  improve 
him  for  the  weaker  man's  own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of 


332       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

the  world's  civilization.  The  policy  of  any  nation  like  the 
United  States  must  be  affected,  of  course,  by  its  own  in- 
terests, but  the  European,  the  Asiatic,  the  negro,  and 
every  race  or  people  with  which  the  American  comes  in 
contact  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  member  of  a  world 
society  in  which  the  interlocking  of  relationships  is  so 
complete  that  the  injury  of  one  is  the  injury  of  all,  and 
that  which  is  done  to  aid  the  least  will  react  to  the  benefit 
of  him  who  already  has  more. 

READING  REFERENCES 

DEALEY:  Development  of  the  State,  pages  300-314. 
USHER:  Rise  of  the  American  People,  pages  392-404. 
MECKLIN:  Democracy  and  Race  Friction,  pages  77-122. 
COMMONS:  Races  and  Immigrants  in  America,  pages  17-21,  198-238. 
COOLIDGE:  Chinese  Immigration,  pages  423-458,  486-496. 
GULICK:  The  American  Japanese  Problem,  pages  3-27,  90-196,  281- 
307- 


CHAPTER  XLIV 
INTERNATIONALISM 

349.  The  New  World  Life. — The  social  life  that  started 
in  the  family  has  broadened  until  it  has  circled  the  globe. 
It  is  possible  now  to  speak  in  terms  of  world  life.     The 
interests  of  society  have  reached  out  from  country  to 
country,  and  from  zone  to  zone,  just  as  a  child's  interests 
as  he  grows  to  manhood  expand  from  the  home  to  the  com- 
munity and  from  the  community  to  the  nation. 

The  idea  of  the  social  solidarity  of  all  peoples  is  still 
new.  Ever  since  the  original  divergence  of  population 
from  its  home  nest,  when  groups  became  strange  and  hos- 
tile to  one  another  because  of  mountain  and  forest  bar- 
riers, changing  languages,  and  occasionally  clashing  inter- 
ests, the  tendency  of  the  peoples  was  to  grow  apart.  But 
for  a  century  past  the  tendency  has  been  changing  from 
divergence  to  convergence,  from  ignorance  and  distrust  of 
one  another  to  understanding,  sympathy,  and  good-will, 
from  independence  and  ruthlessness  to  interdependence 
and  co-operation.  Numerous  agencies  have  brought  this 
about — some  physical  like  steam  and  electricity,  some  eco- 
nomic like  commerce  and  finance,  some  social  like  travel 
and  the  interchange  of  ideas  through  the  press,  some  moral 
and  religious  like  missions  and  international  organizations 
for  peace.  The  history  of  a  hundred  years  has  made  it 
plain  that  nations  cannot  live  in  isolation  any  more  than 
individuals  can,  and  that  the  tendency  toward  social  soli- 
darity must  be  the  permanent  tendency  if  society  is  to 
exist  and  prosper,  even  though  civilization  and  peace  may 
be  temporarily  set  back  for  a  generation  by  war. 

350.  The  Principle  of  Adaptation  vs.  Conflict. — This 
New  World  life  is  not  unnatural,  though  it  has  been  slow  in 
coming.    A  human  being  is  influenced  by  his  physical 

333 


334       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

needs  and  desires,  his  cultivated  habits,  his  accumulated 
interests,  the  customs  of  the  people  to  whom  he  belongs, 
and  the  conditions  of  the  environment  in  which  he  finds 
himself.  While  a  savage  his  needs,  desires,  and  interests 
are  few,  his  habits  are  fixed,  his  relations  are  simple  and 
local;  but  when  he  begins  to  take  on  civilization  his  needs 
multiply,  his  habits  change,  and  his  relations  extend  more 
widely.  The  more  enlightened  he  becomes  the  greater 
the  number  of  his  interests  and  the  more  points  of  con- 
tact with  other  people.  So  with  every  human  group. 
The  process  of  social  development  for  a  time  may  inten- 
sify conflict,  but  there  comes  a  time  when  it  is  made  clear 
to  the  dullest  mind  that  conflict  must  give  way  to  mutual 
adaptation.  No  one  group,  not  even  a  supernation,  can 
have  everything  for  itself,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  world's 
comfort  and  peace  it  will  be  a  decided  social  gain  when 
that  principle  receives  universal  recognition.  World  fed- 
erations and  peace  propaganda  cannot  be  effective  until 
that  principle  is  accepted  as  a  working  basis  for  world  life. 
351.  The  Increasing  Recognition  of  the  Principle  of 
Adaptation. — This  principle  of  adaptation  has  found  lim- 
ited application  for  a  long  time.  Starting  with  individuals 
in  the  family  and  family  groups  in  the  clan,  it  extended 
until  it  included  all  the  members  of  a  state  in  their  rela- 
tions to  each  other.  Many  individual  interests  conflict  in 
business  and  society  and  different  opinions  clash,  but  all 
points  of  difference  within  the  nation  are  settled  by  due 
process  of  law,  except  when  elemental  passions  break  out 
in  a  lynching,  or  a  family  feud  is  perpetuated  among  the 
hills.  But  war  continued  to  be  the  mode  of  settling  in- 
ternational difficulties.  Military  force  restrained  a  vassal 
from  hostile  acts  under  the  Roman  peace.  But  the  next 
necessary  step  was  for  states  voluntarily  to  adjust  their 
relations  with  one  another.  In  some  instances,  even  in 
ancient  times,  local  differences  were  buried,  and  small 
federations,  like  the  Achaean  League  of  the  Greeks  and  the 
Lombard  League  of  the  Middle  Ages,  were  formed  for 
common  defense.  These  have  been  followed  by  greater 
alliances  in  modern  times.  But  the  striking  instances  of 


Internationalism  335 

real  interstate  progress  are  found  in  the  federation  of 
such  States  as  those  that  are  included  within  the  present 
United  States  of  America,  and  within  the  new  German 
Empire  that  was  formed  after  the  Franco-Prussian  War. 
Sinking  their  differences  and  recognizing  one  another's 
rights  and  interests,  the  people  of  such  united  nations 
have  become  accustomed  to  a  large  national  solidarity, 
and  it  ought  not  to  require  much  instruction  or  persuasion 
to  show  them  that  what  they  have  accomplished  already 
for  themselves  is  the  correct  principle  for  their  guidance 
in  world  affairs. 

352.  International  Law  and  Peace. — This  principle  of 
recognizing  one  another's  rights  and  interests  is  the  foun- 
dation of  international  law,  which  has  been  modified  from 
time  to  time,  but  which  from  the  publication  of  Hugo 
Grotius's   Law   of    War    and  Peace   in  the  seventeenth 
century  slowly  has  bound  more  closely  together  the  civil- 
ized nations.     There  has  come  into  existence  a  body  of 
law  for  the  conduct  of  nations  that  is  less  complete,  but 
commands  as  great  respect  as  the  civil  law  of  a  single  state. 
This  law  may  be  violated  by  a  nation  in  the  stress  of 
conflict,  as  civil  law  may  be  derided  by  an  individual  law- 
breaker or  by  an  excited  mob,  but  eventually  it  reasserts 
itself  and  slowly  extends  its  scope  and  power.     Without 
international  legislative  organization,  without  a  tribunal 
or  a  military  force  to  carry  out  its  provisions,  by  sheer 
force  of  international  opinion  and  a  growing  regard  for 
social  justice  it  demands   attention   from   the  proudest 
nations.     Text-books  have  been  written  and  university 
chairs  founded  to  present  its  claims,  international  asso- 
ciations and  conventions  have  met  to  define  more  accu- 
rately its  code,  and  tentative  steps  have  been  taken  to 
strengthen  its  position  by  two  Hague  Conferences  that 
met  in  1899  and  190?-     Large  contributions  of  money  have 
been  made  to  stimulate  the  cause  of  peace,  and  as  many 
as   two   hundred   and    fifty   peace   societies    have    been 
organized. 

353.  Arbitration  and  an  International  Court. — Experi- 
ments have  been  tried  at  settling  international  disputes 


336       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

without  resort  to  war.  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  have  led  the  way  in  showing  to  the  world  during 
the  last  one  hundred  years  that  all  kinds  of  vexatious 
differences  can  be  settled  peacefully  by  submitting  them 
to  arbitration.  These  successes  have  led  the  United  States 
to  propose  general  treaties  of  arbitration  to  other  nations, 
and  advance  has  been  made  in  that  direction.  It  was 
possible  to  establish  at  The  Hague  a  permanent  court  of 
arbitration,  and  to  refer  to  it  really  important  cases.  Such 
a  calamity  as  the  European  war,  of  course,  interrupts  the 
progress  of  all  such  peaceful  methods,  but  makes  all  the 
plainer  the  dire  need  of  a  better  machinery  for  settling 
international  differences.  There  is  reasonable  expectation 
that  before  many  years  there  may  be  established  a  per- 
manent international  court  of  justice,  an  international 
parliament,  and  a  sufficient  international  police  force  to 
restrain  any  one  nation  from  breaking  the  peace.  Only 
in  this  way  can  the  dread  of  war  be  allayed  and  disarma- 
ment be  undertaken;  even  then  the  success  of  such  an 
experiment  in  government  will  depend  on  an  increase  of 
international  understanding,  respect,  and  consideration. 

354.  Intercommunication  and  Its  Rewards. — The  gain 
in  social  solidarity  that  has  been  achieved  already  is  due 
first  of  all  to  improved  communication  between  nations. 
In  the  days  of  slow  sailing  vessels  it  took  several  weeks 
to  cross  the  Atlantic,  and  there  was  no  quicker  way  to 
convey  news.  The  news  that  peace  had  been  arranged  at 
Ghent  in  1814  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
did  not  reach  the  armies  on  this  side  in  time  to  prevent 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  Even  the  results  of  the  bat- 
tle of  Waterloo  were  not  known  in  England  for  several 
days  after  Napoleon's  overthrow.  Now  ocean  leviathans 
keep  pace  with  the  storms  that  move  across  the  waters, 
and  the  cable  and  the  wireless  flash  their  messages  with 
the  speed  of  the  lightning.  Power  to  put  a  girdle  around 
the  earth  in  a  few  minutes  has  made  modern  news  agencies 
possible,  and  they  have  made  the  modern  newspaper  essen- 
tial. The  newspaper  requires  the  railroad  and  the  steam- 
ship for  its  distribution,  and  business  men  depend  upon 


Internationalism  337 

them  all  to  carry  out  their  plans.  These  physical  agencies 
have  made  possible  a  commerce  that  is  world-wide.  There 
are  ports  that  receive  ships  from  every  nation  east  and 
west.  Great  freight  terminal  yards  hold  cars  that  belong 
to  all  the  great  transportation  lines  of  the  country.  Lom- 
bard Street  and  Wall  Street  feel  the  pulse  of  the  world's 
trade  as  it  beats  through  the  channels  of  finance. 

Improved  communication  has  made  possible  the  unifica- 
tion of  a  great  political  system  like  the  British  Empire. 
In  the  Parliament  House  and  government  offices  of  West- 
minster centre  the  political  interests  of  Canada,  Australia, 
South  Africa,  Egypt,  and  India,  as  well  as  of  islands  in 
every  sea.  Better  communication  has  brought  into  closer 
relations  the  Pan-American  states,  so  that  they  have  met 
more  than  once  for  their  mutual  benefit. 

Helpful  social  results  have  come  from  the  travel  that 
has  grown  enormously  in  volume  since  ease  and  cheapness 
of  transportation  have  increased.  The  impulse  to  travel 
for  pleasure  keeps  persons  of  wealth  on  the  move,  and 
the  desire  for  knowledge  sends  the  intellectually  minded 
professional  man  or  woman  of  small  means  globe-trotting. 
In  this  way  the  people  of  different  nations  learn  from  one 
another;  they  become  able  to  converse  in  different  lan- 
guages and  to  get  one  another's  point  of  view;  they  gain 
new  wants  while  they  lose  some  of  their  professional  in- 
terests; they  return  home  poorer  in  pocket  but  richer 
in  experience,  more  interested  in  others,  more  tolerant. 
These  are  social  values,  certain  to  make  their  influence 
felt  in  days  to  come,  and  by  no  means  unappreciable 
already. 

355.  International  Institutions. — These  values  are  con- 
served by  international  institutions.  Societies  are  formed 
by  like-minded  persons  for  better  acquaintance  and  for 
the  advancement  of  knowledge.  The  sciences  are  cher- 
ished internationally,  interparliamentary  unions  and  other 
agencies  for  the  preservation  of  peace  hold  their  confer- 
ences, working  men  meet  to  air  their  grievances  or  plan 
programmes,  religious  denominations  consult  for  pushing 
their  campaigns.  The  organizations  that  grow  out  of 


338        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

these  relations  and  conferences  develop  into  institutions 
that  have  standing.  The  international  associations  of 
scholars  are  as  much  a  part  of  the  world's  institutional 
assets  as  the  educational  system  is  a  recognized  asset  of 
any  country.  They  are  clearing-houses  of  information, 
as  necessary  as  an  international  clearing-house  of  finance. 
The  World's  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  and 
the  International  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  are 
moral  agencies  that  bring  together  those  who  have  at  heart 
the  same  interests,  and  when  they  have  once  made  good 
they  must  be  reckoned  among  the  established  organiza- 
tions that  help  to  move  the  world  forward.  Not  least 
among  such  institutions  are  the  religious  organizations. 
The  closely  knit  Roman  Catholic  Church,  that  has  held 
together  millions  of  faithful  adherents  in  many  lands  for 
centuries,  and  whose  canon  law  receives  an  unquestioning 
obedience  as  the  law  of  a  nation,  is  an  illustration  of  what 
an  international  religious  institution  may  be.  Protestant 
Churches,  naturally  more  independent,  have  moved  more 
slowly,  but  their  world  alliances  and  federations  are  in- 
creasing to  the  point  where  they,  too,  are  likely  to  become 
true  institutions. 

356.  Missions  as  a  Social  Institution. — Those  institu- 
tions and  movements  are  most  useful  that  aim  definitely  to 
stimulate  the  highest  interests  of  all  mankind.  It  is  com- 
paratively simple  to  provide  local  stimulus  for  a  better 
community  life,  but  to  help  move  the  world  on  to  higher 
levels  requires  clear  vision,  patient  hope,  and  a  definite 
plan  on  a  large  scale.  Christian  missionaries  are  con- 
spicuous for  their  lofty  ideals,  their  personal  devotion  to 
an  unselfish  task,  their  persistent  optimism,  and  their 
unswerving  adherence  to  the  programme  marked  out  by  the 
pioneers  of  the  movement.  It  is  no  argument  against 
them  that  they  have  not  accomplished  all  that  a  few 
enthusiasts  expected  of  them  in  a  few  years.  To  socialize 
and  Christianize  half  the  people  of  the  world  is  the  task 
of  centuries.  With  broad  statesmanship  missionary  lead- 
ers have  undertaken  to  do  both  of  these.  Mistakes  in 
method  or  detail  of  operation  do  not  invalidate  the  whole 


Internationalism  339 

enterprise,  and  all  criticism  must  keep  in  mind  the  noble 
purpose  to  lift  to  a  higher  level  the  social,  moral,  and 
religious  ideas  and  practices  of  the  most  backward  peoples. 
The  purpose  is  certainly  no  less  laudable  than  that  of  a 
Chinese  mission  to  England  to  persuade  Great  Britain  to 
end  the  opium  traffic,  or  a  diplomatic  mission  from  the 
United  States  to  stop  civil  strife  in  Mexico. 

357.  Education  as  a  Means  to  Internationalism. — In- 
ternationalism rests  on  the  broad  basis  of  the  social  nature 
of  mankind,  a  nature  that  cannot  be  unsocialized,  but  can 
be  developed  to  a  higher  and  more  purposeful  socializa- 
tion. As  there  are  degrees  of  perfection  in  the  excellence 
of  social  relations,  so  there  are  degrees  of  obligation  resting 
upon  the  nations  of  the  world  to  give  of  their  best  to  a 
general  levelling  up.  The  dependable  means  of  inter- 
national socialization  is  education,  whether  it  comes 
through  the  press,  the  pulpit,  or  the  school.  Every  com- 
mission that  visits  one  country  from  another  to  learn  of 
its  industries,  its  institutions,  and  its  ideals,  is  a  means 
to  that  important  end.  Every  exchange  professor  between 
European  and  American  universities  helps  to  interpret 
one  country  to  the  other.  Every  Chinese,  Mexican,  or 
Filipino  youth  who  attends  an  American  school  is  borrow- 
ing stimulus  for  his  own  people.  Every  visitor  who  does 
not  waste  or  abuse  his  opportunities  is  a  unit  in  the  proc- 
ess of  improving  the  acquaintance  of  East  and  West,  of 
North  and  South.  Internationalism  is  not  a  social  Utopia 
to  be  invented  in  a  day;  it  is  rather  an  attitude  of  mind 
and  a  mode  of  living  that  come  gradually  but  with  gath- 
ering momentum  as  mutual  understanding  and  sympathy 
increase. 

READING  REFERENCES 

STRONG:  Our  World,  pages  3-202. 

FOSTER:  Arbitration  and  the  Hague  Court. 

FAUNCE:  Social  Aspects  of  Foreign  Missions. 

MAURENBRECKER :  "The  Moral  and  Social  Tasks  of  World  Politics," 

art.  in  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  6  :  307-315. 
TRUEBLOOD:  Federation  of  the  World,  pages  7-20,  91-149. 


PART  VI— SOCIAL  ANALYSIS 


CHAPTER  XLV 

PHYSICAL  AND  PERSONAL  FACTORS  IN  THE  LIFE 
OF  SOCIETY 

358.  Constant    Factors    in    Social    Phenomena. — Our 
study  of  social  life  has  made  it  plain  that  it  is  a  complex 
affair,  but  it  has  been  possible  to  classify  society  in  cer- 
tain groups,  to  follow  the  gradual  extension  of  relations 
from  small  groups  to  large,  and  to  take  note  of  the  numer- 
ous activities  and  interests  that  enter  into  contemporary 
group  life.     It  is  now  desirable  to  search  for  certain  common 
elements  that  in  all  periods  enter  into  the  life  of  every 
group,  whether  temporary  or  permanent,  so  that  we  may 
discover  the  constant  factors  and  the  general  principles 
that  belong  to  the  science  of  society.     Some  of  these  have 
been  referred  to  already  among  the  characteristics  of  social 
life,  but  in  this  connection  it  is  useful  to  classify  them 
for  closer  examination. 

First  among  these  is  the  physical  factor  which  conditions 
human  activity  but  is  not  a  compelling  force,  for  man  has 
often  subdued  his  environment  when  it  has  put  obstacles 
in  his  way.  This  physical  element  includes  the  geographi- 
cal conditions  of  mountain,  valley,  or  seashore,  the  climate 
and  the  weather,  the  food  and  water  supply,  the  physical 
inheritance  of  the  individual  and  the  laws  that  control 
physical  development,  and  the  physical  constitution  of 
the  group.  A  second  factor  is  the  psychic  nature  of 
human  beings  and  the  psychical  interaction  that  goes  on 
between  individuals  within  the  group  and  that  produces 
reactions  between  groups. 

359.  The  Natural  Environment. — The  early  sociologists 
put  the  emphasis  on  the  physical  more  than  the  psychic 

340 


Physical  and  Personal  Factors  341 

factors,  and  especially  on  biological  analogies  in  society. 
It  seemed  to  them  as  if  it  was  nature  that  brought  men 
together.  Mountains  and  ice-bound  regions  were  inhos- 
pitable, impassable  rivers  and  trackless  forests  limited  the 
range  of  animals  and  men,  violent  storms  and  temperature 
changes  made  men  afraid.  Avoiding  these  dangers  and 
seeking  a  food-supply  where  it  was  most  plentiful,  human 
beings  met  in  the  favored  localities  and  learned  by  expe- 
rience the  principles  of  association.  Everywhere  man  is 
still  in  contact  with  physical  forces.  He  has  not  yet 
learned  to  get  along  without  the  products  of  the  earth, 
extracting  food-supplies  from  the  soil,  gathering  the  fruits 
that  nature  provides,  and  mining  the  useful  and  precious 
metals.  The  city-dweller  seems  less  dependent  on  nature 
than  is  the  farmer,  but  the  urban  citizen  relies  on  steam 
and  electricity  to  turn  the  wheels  of  industry  and  trans- 
portation, depends  on  coal  and  gas  for  heat  and  light,  and 
uses  winter's  harvest  of  ice  to  relieve  the  oppressive  heat 
of  summer.  Rivers  and  seas  are  highways  of  his  com- 
merce. Everywhere  man  seems  hedged  about  by  physical 
forces  and  physical  laws. 

Yet  with  the  prerogative  of  civilization  he  has  become 
master  rather  than  servant  of  nature.  He  has  improved 
wild  fruits  and  vegetables  by  cultivation,  he  has  domes- 
ticated wild  animals,  he  has  harnessed  the  water  of  the 
streams  and  the  winds  of  heaven.  He  has  tunnelled  the 
mountains,  bridged  the  rivers,  and  laid  his  cables  beneath 
the  ocean.  He  has  learned  to  ride  over  land  and  sea  and 
even  to  skim  along  the  currents  of  the  air.  He  has  been 
able  to  discover  the  chemical  elements  that  permeate  mat- 
ter and  the  nature  and  laws  of  physical  forces.  By  numer- 
ous inventions  he  has  made  use  of  the  materials  and  powers 
of  nature.  The  physical  universe  is  a  challenge  to  human 
wits,  a  stimulus  to  thought  and  activity  that  shall  result 
in  the  wonderful  achievements  of  civilization. 

360.  The  Human  Physique. — Another  element  that 
enters  into  every  calculation  of  success  or  failure  in  human 
life  is  the  physical  constitution  of  the  individual  and  the 
group.  The  individual's  physique  makes  a  great  difference 


342       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

in  his  comfort  and  activity.  The  corpulent  person  finds 
it  difficult  to  get  about  with  ease,  the  cripple  finds  himself 
debarred  from  certain  occupations,  the  person  with  weak 
lungs  must  shun  certain  climates  and  as  far  as  possible 
must  avoid  indoor  pursuits.  By  their  power  of  ingenuity 
or  by  sheer  force  of  will  men  have  been  able  to  overcome 
physical  limitations,  but  it  is  necessary  to  reckon  with 
those  limitations,  and  they  are  always  a  handicap.  The 
physical  endowment  of  a  race  has  been  a  deciding  factor 
in  certain  times  of  crisis.  The  physical  prowess  of  the 
Anakim  kept  back  the  timid  Israelites  from  their  intended 
conquest  of  Canaan  until  a  more  hardy  generation  had 
arisen  among  the  invaders;  the  sturdy  Germans  won  the 
lands  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  West  from  the  degener- 
ate provincials;  powerful  vikings  swept  the  Western  seas 
and  struck  such  terror  into  the  peaceful  Saxons  that  they 
cried  out:  "From  the  fury  of  the  Northmen,  good  Lord, 
deliver  us." 

361.  Biological  Analogies. — The  physical  factor  in  so- 
ciety received  emphasis  the  more  because  society  itself 
was  thought  of  as  an  organism  resembling  physical  organ- 
isms and  dependent  upon  similar  laws.  As  a  man's  physi- 
cal frame  was  essential  to  his  activity  and  limited  his 
energies,  so  the  visible  structure  of  social  organization  was 
deemed  more  important  than  social  activity  and  function. 
Particularly  did  the  method  of  evolution  that  had  become 
so  famous  in  biology  appeal  to  students  of  sociology  as  the 
only  satisfactory  explanation  of  social  change.  The  study 
of  animal  evolution  made  it  clear  that  heredity  and  en- 
vironment played  a  large  part  in  the  development  of  animal 
life,  and  Darwin  pointed  out  that  progress  came  by  the 
elimination  of  those  individuals  and  species  least  fitted  to 
survive  in  the  struggle  for  existence  and  the  perpetuation 
of  those  that  best  adapted  themselves  to  environment.  It 
was  easy  to  find  social  analogies  and  to  reach  the  conclu- 
sion that  in  the  same  way  individuals  and  groups  were 
creatures  of  heredity  and  environment,  and  the  all-impor- 
tant task  of  society  was  to  conform  itself  to  environment. 
Of  course,  history  disproved  the  universality  of  such  a 


Physical  and  Personal  Factors  343 

law,  for  more  than  once  a  race  has  risen  above  its  environ- 
ment or  altered  it,  but  it  seemed  a  satisfactory  working 
principle. 

Biological  analogies,  however,  were  overemphasized.  It 
was  a  gain  to  know  the  workings  of  race  traits  and  the 
relation  of  the  individual  to  his  ancestry,  but  to  excuse 
crime  on  the  ground  of  racial  degeneracy  or  to  despise  a 
race  and  believe  that  none  of  its  members  can  excel  be- 
cause it  is  conspicuous  for  certain  race  weaknesses  has  been 
unfortunate.  Similarly  there  was  advantage  in  remember- 
ing that  environment  is  either  a  great  help  or  a  great  hin- 
drance to  social  progress,  but  it  would  be  a  social  calamity 
to  believe  in  a  physical  determinism  that  leaves  to  human 
beings  no  choice  as  to  their  manner  of  life.  The  important 
truth  to  keep  in  mind  is  that  man  and  environment  must 
be  adapted  to  each  other,  but  it  often  proves  better  to 
adapt  environment  to  man  than  to  force  man  into  con- 
formity to  environment.  It  is  the  growing  independence 
of  environment  through  his  own  intellectual  powers  that 
has  given  to  civilized  man  his  ascendancy  in  the  world.  It 
is  a  mistake,  also,  to  think  that  a  struggle  for  existence  is 
the  only  means  of  survival.  As  in  the  animal  world,  there 
comes  a  time  in  the  process  of  evolution  when  the  struggle 
for  selfish  existence  becomes  subordinated  to  effort  to  pre- 
serve the  life  of  the  young  or  to  help  the  group  by  the 
sacrifice  of  the  individual  self,  so  in  society  it  is  reasonable 
to  believe  that  the  selfish  struggle  of  individuals  will  give 
way  by  degrees  to  purposeful  effort  for  social  welfare,  and 
that  the  solidarity  of  the  group  rather  than  the  interest 
of  the  individual  will  seem  the  highest  good.  Then  the 
group  will  care  for  the  weak,  and  all  will  gain  from  the 
strength  and  prosperity  of  the  whole. 

362.  The  Importance  of  the  Individual. — While  it  is 
true  that  individual  interests  are  bound  up  with  the  pros- 
perity of  the  group,  and  that  the  food  that  he  eats,  the 
clothes  that  he  wears,  and  the  money  that  he  handles  and 
uses  are  all  his  because  social  industry  prevails,  there  is 
some  danger  of  overlooking  the  importance  of  the  indi- 
vidual. Though  he  does  not  exist  alone,  the  individual 


344        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

with  his  distinctive  personality  is  the  unit  of  society. 
Without  individuals  there  would  be  no  society,  without  the 
action  of  the  individual  mind  there  would  be  no  action  of 
the  social  mind,  without  individual  leadership  there  would 
be  little  order  or  progress.  The  single  cell  that  made  up 
the  lowest  forms  of  animal  life  is  still  the  unit  of  that 
complex  thing  that  we  call  the  human  body,  and  the  well- 
being  of  the  single  cell  is  essential  to  the  health  and  even 
the  existence  of  the  whole  body;  so  the  single  human  being 
is  fundamental  to  the  existence  and  health  of  the  social 
body.  No  analysis  of  society  is  at  all  complete  that  does 
not  include  a  study  of  the  individual  man. 

363.  The  Psychology  of  the  Individual. — Self-examina- 
tion during  the  course  of  a  single  day  helps  to  explain  the 
life  forces  that  act  upon  other  individuals  now  and  that 
have  forged  human  history.  In  such  study  of  self  it  soon 
becomes  apparent  to  the  student  that  the  physical  factor 
is  subordinate  to  the  psychic,  but  that  they  are  connected. 
As  soon  as  he  wakes  in  the  morning  his  mental  processes 
are  at  work.  Something  has  called  back  his  consciousness 
from  sleep.  The  light  shining  in  at  his  window,  the  bell 
calling  him  to  meet  the  day's  schedule,  the  odor  of  food 
cooking  in  the  kitchen,  are  physical  stimuli  calling  out 
the  response  of  his  sense-perceptions;  his  mind  begins  at 
once  to  associate  these  impressions  and  to  react  upon  his 
will  until  he  gets  out  of  bed  and  proceeds  to  prepare  him- 
self for  the  day.  These  processes  of  sensation,  association, 
and  volition  constitute  the  simple  basis  of  individual  life 
upon  which  the  complex  structure  of  an  active  personality 
is  built. 

The  individual  will  is  moved  to  activity  by  many  agen- 
cies. There  is  first  the  instinct.  As  a  person  inherits 
physical  traits  from  his  ancestors,  so  he  gets  certain  mental 
traits.  The  demand  for  food  is  the  cry  of  the  instinct  for 
self-preservation.  The  grimace  of  the  infant  in  response 
to  the  mother's  smile  is  an  expression  of  the  instinct  for 
imitation.  The  reaching  out  of  its  hand  to  grasp  the  sun- 
shine is  in  obedience  to  the  instinct  for  acquisition.  All 
human  association  is  due  primarily  to  the  instinct  for 


Physical  and  Personal  Factors  345 

sociability.  These  instincts  are  inborn.  They  cannot  be 
eradicated,  but  they  can  be  modified  and  controlled. 

Obedience  to  these  native  instincts  produces  fixed  habits. 
These  are  not  native  but  acquired,  and  so  are  not  trans- 
mitted to  posterity,  in  the  belief  of  most  scientists,  but 
they  are  powerful  factors  in  individual  conduct.  The 
individual  early  in  the  morning  is  hungry,  and  the  appe- 
tite for  food  recurs  at  intervals  through  the  day;  it  becomes 
a  habit  to  go  at  certain  hours  where  he  may  obtain  satis- 
faction. So  it  is  with  many  activities  throughout  the  day. 

Instincts  and  habits  produce  impulses.  The  savage  eats 
as  often  as  he  feels  like  it,  if  he  can  find  berries  or  fruit  or 
bring  down  game;  impulse  alone  governs  his  conduct.  But 
two  other  elements  enter  in  to  modify  impulse,  as  experi- 
ence teaches  wisdom.  The  self-indulgent  man  remembers 
after  a  little  that  indulgence  of  impulse  has  resulted  some- 
times in  pain  rather  than  satisfaction,  and  his  imagination 
pictures  a  recurrence  of  the  unhappy  experience.  Feeling 
becomes  a  guide  to  regulate  impulse.  Feeling  in  turn 
compels  thought.  Presently  the  individual  who  is  going 
through  the  civilizing  process  formulates  a  resolve  and  a 
theory,  a  resolve  to  eat  at  regular  times  and  to  abstain 
from  foods  that  injure  him,  a  theory  that  intelligent  re- 
straint is  better  than  unregulated  indulgence.  In  a  similar 
way  the  individual  acts  with  reference  to  selecting  his 
environment.  Instinct  and  habit  act  conservatively,  im- 
pelling the  individual  to  remain  in  the  place  where  he  was 
born  and  reared,  and  to  follow  the  occupation  of  his  father. 
But  he  feels  the  discomforts  of  the  climate  or  the  restric- 
tions of  his  particular  environment,  he  thinks  about  it, 
bringing  to  bear  all  the  knowledge  that  he  possesses,  and 
he  makes  his  choice  between  going  elsewhere  or  modifying 
his  present  environment.  Discovery  and  invention  are 
both  products  of  such  choices  as  these. 

364.  Desires  and  Interests. — These  complexes  of  think- 
ing, feeling,  and  willing  make  up  the  conscious  desires  and 
interests  that  mould  the  individual  life.  Through  the 
processes  of  attention  to  the  stimuli  that  act  upon  human 
nature,  discrimination  between  them,  association  of  im- 


346        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

pressions  and  ideas  that  come  from  present  and  past  ex- 
perience, and  deliberate  judgments  of  value,  the  mind 
moves  to  action  for  the  satisfaction  of  personal  desires  and 
interests.  These  desires  and  interests  have  been  classified 
in  various  ways.  For  our  present  purpose  it  is  useful  to 
classify  them  as  those  that  centre  in  the  self,  and  those  that 
centre  in  others  beyond  the  self.  The  primitive  desires  to 
get  food  and  drink,  to  mate,  and  to  engage  in  muscular 
activity,  all  look  toward  the  self-satisfaction  which  conies 
from  their  indulgence.  There  are  various  acquired  inter- 
ests that  likewise  centre  in  the  self.  The  individual  goes 
to  college  for  the  social  pleasure  that  he  anticipates,  for 
intellectual  satisfaction,  or  to  equip  himself  with  a  training 
that  will  enable  him  to  win  success  in  the  competition  of 
business.  In  the  larger  society  outside  of  college  the  art- 
lover  gathers  about  him  many  treasures  for  his  own  aesthetic 
delight,  the  politician  exerts  himself  for  the  attainment  of 
power  and  position,  the  religious  devotee  hopes  for  per- 
sonal favors  from  the  unseen  powers.  These  are  on  differ- 
ent planes  of  value,  they  are  estimated  differently  by  dif- 
ferent persons,  but  they  all  centre  in  the  individual,  and 
if  society  benefits  it  is  only  indirectly  or  accidentally. 

As  the  individual  rises  in  the  scale  of  social  intelligence, 
his  interests  become  less  self-centred,  and  as  he  extends 
his  acquaintance  and  associations  the  scope  of  his  interests 
enlarges.  He  begins  to  act  with  reference  to  the  effect  of 
his  actions  upon  others.  He  sacrifices  his  own  convenience 
for  his  roommate;  he  restrains  his  self-indulgence  for  the 
sake  of  the  family  that  he  might  disgrace;  he  exerts  him- 
self in  athletic  prowess  for  the  honor  of  the  college  to 
which  he  belongs;  he  is  willing  to  risk  his  life  on  the  battle- 
field in  defense  of  the  nation  of  which  he  is  a  citizen;  he 
consecrates  his  life  to  missionary  or  scientific  endeavor  in 
a  far  land  for  the  sake  of  humanity's  gain.  These  are  the 
social  interests  that  dominate  his  activity.  Mankind  has 
risen  from  the  brute  by  the  process  that  leads  the  individ- 
ual up  from  the  low  level  of  life  moulded  by  primitive 
desires  to  the  high  plane  of  a  life  directed  by  the  broad 
interests  of  society  at  large.  It  is  the  task  of  education 


Physical  and  Personal  Factors  347 

to  reveal  this  process,  and  to  provide  the  stimuli  that  are 
needed  for  its  continuance. 

365.  Personality. — No  two  persons  are  actuated  alike 
in  daily  conduct.  The  pull  of  their  individual  desires  is 
not  the  same,  the  influence  of  the  various  social  interests 
is  not  in  the  same  proportion.  The  situation  is  compli- 
cated by  hereditary  tendencies,  and  by  physical  and  social 
environment.  Consequently  every  human  being  possesses 
his  own  distinctive  individuality  or  personality.  Varia- 
tions of  personality  can  be  classified  and  various  persons 
resemble  each  other  so  much  that  types  of  personality  are 
distinguished.  Thus  we  distinguish  between  weak  per- 
sonality and  forceful  personality,  according  to  the  strength 
of  individuation,  a  narrow  or  a  broad  personality  accord- 
ing as  interests  are  few  and  selfish  or  broadly  social,  a 
fixed  or  a  changing  personality  according  to  conservatism 
or  unsettled  disposition.  Personality  is  a  distinction  not 
always  appreciated,  a  distinction  that  separates  man  from 
the  brute  because  of  his  self-consciousness  and  power  of 
self-direction  by  rational  processes,  and  relieves  him  from 
the  dead  level  that  would  exist  in  society  if  every  individual 
were  made  after  the  same  pattern.  It  is  the  secret  of 
social  as  well  as  individual  progress,  for  it  is  a  great  per- 
sonality that  sways  the  group.  It  is  the  great  boon  of 
present  life  and  the  great  promise  of  continued  life  here- 
after. 

READING  REFERENCES 

Ross:  Foundations  of  Sociology,  pages  165-181. 

ELLWOOD:  Sociology  in  its  Psychological  Aspects,  pages  94-123. 

DEALEY:  Sociology,  pages  96-98,  200-230. 

NEARING  AND  WATSON:  Economics,  pages  60-98. 

DARWIN:  Descent  of  Man,  chap.  XXI. 

DRUMMOND:  Ascent  of  Man,  pages  41-57,  189-266. 

GIDDINGS:  Inductive  Sociology,  pages  249-278. 


CHAPTER  XLVI 
SOCIAL  PSYCHIC  FACTORS 

366.  The    Social   Mind. — As   individual   life   is   com- 
pounded of  many  psychic  elements  that  make  up  one  mind, 
so  the  life  of  every  group  involves  various  factors  of  a 
psychic  nature  that  constitute  the  social  mind.     The  social 
mind  does  not  exist  apart  from  individual  minds,  but  it  is 
nevertheless   real.     When    emotional   excitement   stirs   a 
mob  to  action,  the  unity  of  feeling  is  evidence  of  a  social 
mind.     When  a  congregation  recites  a  creed  of  the  church 
the  unity  of  belief  shows  the  existence  of  a  social  mind. 
When  a  political  land-slide  occurs  on  the  occasion  of  a 
presidential  election  in  the  United  States,  the  unity  of  will 
expresses  the  social  mind.     The  emotional  phase  is  tem- 
porary, public  opinion  changes  more  slowly;  all  the  time 
the  social  mind  is  gaining  experience  and  learning  wisdom, 
as  does  the  individual.     Social  consciousness,   which  at 
first  is  slight,   increases  gradually,   until  it  fructifies  in 
social  purpose  which  results  in  achievement.     History  is 
full  of  illustrations  of  such  development. 

367.  How  the  Social  Mind  is  Formed. — The  formation 
of  this  social  mind  and  its  subsequent  workings  may  be 
illustrated  from  a  common  occurrence  in  frontier  history. 
Imagine  three  hunters  meeting  for  the  first  time  around  a 
camp-fire,  and  analyze  their  mental  processes.     The  first 
man  was  tired  and  hungry  and  camped  to  rest  and  eat. 
The  second  happened  to  come  upon  the  camp  just  as  a 
storm  was  breaking,  saw  the  smoke  of  the  fire,  and  turned 
aside  for  its  comfort.     The  third  picked  up  the  trail  of  the 
second  and  followed  it  to  find  companionship.     Each  obey- 
ing a  primal  instinct  and  conscious  of  his  kind,  came  into 
association  with  others,  and  thus  by  the  process  of  aggre- 
gation a  temporary  group  was  formed.     Sitting  about  the 

343 


Social  Psychic  Factors  349 

fire,  each  lighted  his  pipe  in  imitation  of  one  another;  they 
communicated  with  one  another  in  language  familiar  to 
all;  one  became  drowsy  and  the  others  yielded  to  the  sug- 
gestion to  sleep.  Waking  in  the  morning,  they  continued 
their  conversation,  and  in  sympathy  with  a  common  pur- 
pose and  in  recognition  of  the  advantages  of  association, 
they  decided  to  keep  together  for  the  remainder  of  the 
hunt.  Thus  was  constituted  the  group  or  social  mind. 

With  the  consciousness  that  they  were  congenial  spirits 
and  shared  a  common  purpose,  each  was  willing  to  sacrifice 
some  of  his  own  habits  and  preferences  in  the  interest  of 
the  group.  One  man  might  prefer  bacon  and  coffee  for 
breakfast,  while  a  second  wished  tea;  one  might  wish  to 
break  camp  at  sunrise,  another  an  hour  later;  each  sub- 
ordinated his  own  desires  for  the  greater  satisfaction  of 
camp  comradeship.  The  strongest  personality  in  the  group 
is  the  determining  factor  in  forming  the  habits  of  the 
group,  though  it  may  be  an  unconscious  leadership.  The 
mind  of  the  group  is  not  the  same  as  that  of  the  leader,  for 
the  mutual  mental  interaction  produces  changes  in  all,  but 
it  approaches  most  nearly  to  his  mind. 

368.  Social  Habits. — By  such  processes  of  aggregation, 
communication,    imitation,    and    association,    individuals 
learn  from  one  another  and  come  to  constitute  a  like-minded 
group.     Sometimes  it  is  a  genetic  group  like  the  family, 
sometimes  an  artificial  group  like  a  band  of  huntsmen;  in 
either  case  the  group  is  held  together  by  a  psychic  unity 
and  comes  to  have  its  peculiar  group  characteristics.     Fixed 
ways  of  thinking  and  acting  are  revealed.     Social  habits 
they  may  be  called,  or  folk-ways,  as  some  prefer  to  name 
them.     These  habits  are  quickly  learned  by  the  members 
of  the  group,  and  are  passed  on  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion by  imitation  or  the  teaching  of  tradition.     There  are 
numerous  conservative  forces  at  work  in  society.     Custom 
crystallizes  into  law,  tradition  is  fortified  by  religion,  a 
system  of  morals  develops  out  of  the  folk-ways,  the  group 
life  tends  to  become  static  and  uniform. 

369.  Adaptation. — Two   influences   are   continually   at 
work,  however,  to  change  social  habits — the  forces  of  the 


350        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

natural  environment  and  interaction  between  different 
groups.  Both  of  these  compel  adaptation  to  surroundings 
if  permanence  of  group  life  is  to  be  secured.  Family  life 
in  the  north  country  illustrates  the  working  of  this  princi- 
ple of  adaptation.  In  the  days  of  settlement  there  was  a 
partial  adaptation  to  the  physical  environment.  Houses 
were  built  tight  and  warm  to  provide  shelter,  abundant 
food  was  supplied  from  the  farm,  on  which  men  toiled 
long  hours  to  make  a  living,  homespun  clothing  was  manu- 
factured to  protect  against  the  rigors  of  winter,  but  igno- 
rance and  lack  of  sufficient  means  prevented  complete 
adaptation,  and  society  was  punished  for  its  failure  to 
complete  the  adaptation.  Climate  was  severe  and  the 
laws  of  health  were  not  fully  worked  out  or  observed, 
therefore  few  children  lived  to  maturity,  although  the 
birth-rate  was  high.  Economic  success  came  only  as  the 
reward  of  patient  and  unremitting  toil,  the  shiftless  family 
failed  in  the  struggle  for  existence.  Tradition  taught  cer- 
tain agricultural  methods,  but  diminishing  returns  threat- 
ened poverty,  unless  methods  were  better  adapted  to  soil 
and  climate.  Thus  the  people  were  forced  slowly  to  im- 
prove their  methods  and  their  manner  of  living  to  conform 
to  what  nature  demanded. 

No  less  powerful  is  the  influence  of  the  social  environ- 
ment. The  authority  of  custom  or  government  tends  to 
make  every  family  conform  to  certain  methods  of  building 
a  house,  cooking  food,  cultivating  land,  selling  crops,  pay- 
ing taxes,  voting  for  local  officials,  but  let  one  family  change 
its  habits  and  prove  conclusively  that  it  has  improved  on 
the  old  ways,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  others 
will  adapt  themselves  better  to  the  situation  that  environs 
them.  The  countryman  takes  a  city  daily  and  notes  the 
weather  indications  and  the  state  of  the  market,  he  installs 
a  rural  telephone  and  is  able  to  make  contracts  for  his 
crops  by  long-distance  conversation,  he  buys  an  improved 
piece  of  machinery  for  cultivating  the  farm,  a  gasolene 
engine,  or  a  motor- wagon  for  quick  delivery  of  produce; 
presently  his  neighbors  discover  that  he  is  adapting  him- 
self more  effectually  to  his  environment  than  they  are, 


Social  Psychic  Factors  351 

and  one  by  one  they  imitate  him  in  adopting  the  new 
methods.  By  and  by  the  community  becomes  known  for 
its  progressiveness,  and  it  is  imitated  by  neighboring  com- 
munities. 

This  process  of  social  adaptation  is  a  mental  process 
more  or  less  definite.  A  particular  family  may  not  con- 
sciously follow  a  definite  plan  for  improved  adaptation, 
but  little  by  little  it  alters  its  ways,  until  in  the  course 
of  two  or  three  generations  it  has  changed  the  circum- 
stances and  habits  that  characterized  the  ancestral  group. 
In  that  case  the  change  is  slow.  Certain  families  may 
definitely  determine  to  modify  their  habits,  and  within  a 
few  years  accomplish  a  telic  change.  In  either  case  there 
are  constantly  going  on  the  processes  of  observation,  dis- 
crimination, and  decision,  due  to  the  impact  of  mind  upon 
mind,  both  within  and  outside  of  the  group,  until  mental 
reactions  are  moving  through  channels  that  are  different 
from  the  old. 

370.  Genetic  Progress. — The  modification  of  folk-ways 
in  the  interest  of  better  adaptation  to  environment  con- 
stitutes progress.  Such  modification  is  caused  by  the 
action  of  various  mental  stimuli.  The  people  of  a  hill  vil- 
lage for  generations  have  been  contented  with  poor  roads 
and  rough  side-paths,  along  which  they  find  an  uneasy 
way  by  the  glimmer  of  a  lantern  at  night.  They  are  un- 
accustomed to  sanitary  conveniences  in  their  houses  or  to 
ample  heating  arrangements  or  ventilation  in  school  or 
church.  They  have  thought  little  about  these  things,  and 
if  they  wished  to  make  improvements  they  would  be 
handicapped  by  small  numbers  and  lack  of  wealth.  But 
after  a  time  there  comes  an  influx  of  summer  visitors;  some 
of  them  purchase  property  and  take  up  their  permanent 
residence  in  the  village.  They  have  been  accustomed  to 
conveniences;  in  other  words,,  to  a  more  complete  adapta- 
tion to  environment;  they  demand  local  improvements 
and  are  willing  to  help  pay  for  them.  More  money  can  be 
raised  for  taxation,  and  when  public  opinion  has  crystal- 
lized so  that  social  action  is  possible,  the  progressive  steps 
are  taken. 


352        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

What  takes  place  thus  in  a  small  way  locally  is  typical 
of  what  is  going  on  continually  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Accumulating  wealth  and  increasing  knowledge  of  the 
good  things  of  the  city  make  country  people  emigrate  or 
provide  themselves  with  a  share  of  the  good  things  at 
home.  The  influence  of  an  enthusiastic  individual  or 
group  who  takes  the  lead  in  better  schools,  better  housing, 
or  better  government  is  improving  the  cities.  The  growing 
cosmopolitanism  of  all  peoples  and  their  adoption  of  the 
best  that  each  has  achieved  is  being  produced  by  com- 
merce, migration,  and  "contact  and  cross-fertilization  of 
cultures." 

371.  Telic  Progress. — Most  social  progress  has  come 
without  the  full  realization  of  the  significance  of  the  grad- 
ual changes  that  were  taking  place.     Few  if  any  individuals 
saw  the  end  from  the  beginning.     They  are  for  the  most 
part  silent  forces  that  have  been  modifying  the  folk-ways 
in  Europe  and  America.     There  has  been  little  conception 
of  social  obligation  or  social  ideals,  little  more  than  a  blind 
obedience  to  the  stimuli  that  pressed  upon  the  individual 
and  the  group.     But  with  the  awakening  of  the  social 
consciousness  and  a  quickening  of  the  social  conscience 
has  come  telic  progress.     There  is  purpose  now  in  the 
action  of  associations  and  method  in  the  enactments  of 
legislatures  and  the  acts  of  administrative  officers.     There 
are  plans  and  programmes  for  all  sorts  of  improvements  that 
await  only  the  proper  means  and  the  sanction  of  public 
opinion  for  their  realization.     Like  a  runner  poised  for  a 
dash  of  speed,  society  seems  to  be  on  the  eve  of  new  achieve- 
ment in  the  direction  of  progress. 

372.  Means  of  Social  Progress. — There  are  three  dis- 
tinct means  of  telic  progress.     Society  may  be  lifted  to  a 
higher  level  by  compulsion,  as  a  huge  crane  lifts  a  heavy 
girder  to  the  place  it  is  to  occupy  in  the  construction  of  a 
great  building.     A  prohibitory  law  that  forbids  the  erec- 
tion of  unhealthy  tenements  throughout  the  cities  of  a 
state  or  nation  is  a  distinctly  progressive  step,  compulsory 
in  its  nature.     Or  the  group  may  be  moved  by  persuasion. 
A  board  of  conciliation  may  persuade  conflicting  industrial 


Social  Psychic  Factors  353 

groups  to  adjust  their  differences  by  peaceful  methods,  and 
thus  inaugurate  an  ethical  movement  in  industry  greatly 
to  the  advantage  of  all  parties.  Or  progress  may  be 
achieved  by  the  slow  process  of  education.  The  average 
church  has  been  accustomed  to  conceive  of  its  functions  as 
pertaining  to  the  individual  rather  than  to  the  whole  social 
order.  It  cannot  be  compelled  to  change  by  governmental 
action,  for  the  church  is  free  and  democratic  in  America. 
It  cannot  easily  be  persuaded  to  change  its  methods  in 
favor  of  a  social  programme.  By  the  slower  process  of  train- 
ing the  young  people  it  can  and  does  gradually  broaden 
its  activities  and  make  itself  more  efficiently  useful  to  the 
community  in  which  it  finds  its  place. 

373.  Criticism  as  a  Means  of  Social  Education. — Edu- 
cation is  not  confined  to  the  training  of  the  schools.     It  is 
a  continuous  process  going  on  through  the  life  of  the  indi- 
vidual or  the  group.     It  is  the  intellectual  process  by  which 
the  mind  is  focussed  on  one  problem  after  another  that 
rises  above  the  horizon  of  experience  and  uses  its  powers 
to  improve  the  adaptation  now  existing  between  the  situ- 
ation and  the  person  or  the  group.     The  educational  proc- 
ess is  complex.     There  must  be  first  the  incitement  to 
thought.     Most  effective  in  this  direction  is  criticism.     If 
the  roads  are  such  a  handicap  to  the  comfort  and  safety 
of  travel  that  there  is  caustic  criticism  at  the  next  town 
meeting,  public  opinion  begins   to  set  definitely  in  the 
direction  of  improvement.     If  city  government  is  corrupt 
and  the  tax  rate  mounts  steadily  without  corresponding 
benefits  to  the  taxpayers,  the  newspapers  call  the  attention 
of  citizens  to  the  fact,  and  they  begin  to  consider  a  change 
of  administration.     Criticism  is  the  knife  that  cuts  to  the 
roots  of  social  disease,  and  through  the  infliction  of  tem- 
porary pain  effects  a  cure.     Criticism  has  started  many  a 
reform  in  church  and  state.     The  presence  of  the  critic  in 
any  group  is  an  irritant  that  provokes  to  progressive  action. 

374.  Discussion. — Criticism  leads  to  discussion.     There 
is  sure  to  be  a  conflict  of  ideas  in  every  group.     Conserva- 
tive and  progressive  contend  with  each  other;  sometimes 
it  is  a  matter  of  belief,  sometimes  of  practice.     Knots  of 


354       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

individuals  talk  matters  over,  leaders  debate  on  the  pub- 
lic platform,  newspapers  take  part  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
In  this  way  national  policies  are  determined,  first  by  Con- 
gress or  Parliament,  and  then  by  the  constituents  of  the 
legislators.  Freedom  of  discussion  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  safeguards  of  popular  government.  If  social  conduct 
should  be  analyzed  on  a  large  scale  it  would  be  found  that 
discussion  is  a  constant  factor.  In  every  business  deal 
there  is  discussion  of  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  proposition, 
in  every  case  that  comes  before  the  courts  there  are  argu- 
ments made  on  both  sides,  in  the  maintenance  of  every 
social  institution  that  costs  money  there  is  a  consideration 
of  its  worth.  Even  if  the  discussion  does  not  find  voice, 
the  human  intellect  debates  the  question  in  its  silent  halls. 
So  universal  is  the  practice  of  discussion  and  so  prized  is 
the  privilege  that  this  is  sometimes  called  the  Age  of  Dis- 
cussion. 

375.  Decision. — Determination  of  action  follows  criti- 
cism and  discussion  in  the  group,  as  volition  follows  think- 
ing in  the  case  of  the  individual.  One  hundred  years  ago 
college  education  was  classical.  In  the  time  of  the  Renais- 
sance and  the  Reformation  a  revival  of  interest  in  the 
classics  produced  a  reaction  against  mediaevalism,  and  in 
time  fastened  a  curriculum  upon  the  universities  that  was 
composed  mainly  of  the  ancient  languages,  mathematics, 
and  a  deductive  philosophy  and  theology.  In  the  nine- 
teenth century  there  began  a  criticism  of  the  classical 
curriculum.  It  was  declared  that  such  a  course  of  study 
was  narrow  and  antiquated,  that  new  subjects,  such  as 
history,  the  modern  languages,  and  the  sciences  were  bet- 
ter worth  attention,  and  presently  it  was  argued  that  a 
person  could  not  be  truly  educated  until  he  knew  his  own 
times  by  the  study  of  sociology,  politics,  economics,  and 
other  social  sciences.  Of  course,  there  was  earnest  resent- 
ment of  such  criticism,  and  discussion  ensued.  The  argu- 
ment for  the  plaintiff  seemed  to  be  well  sustained,  and 
one  by  one  the  governing  boards  of  the  colleges  decided 
to  admit  new  studies  to  the  curriculum,  at  first  grudgingly 
and  then  generously,  until  classical  education  has  become 


Social  Psychic  Factors  355 

relatively  unpopular.  Public  opinion  has  accepted  the 
verdict,  and  many  schools  have  gone  so  far  as  to  make 
vocational  education  supplant  numerous  academic  courses. 
Similarly  criticism,  discussion,  and  change  of  front  have 
occurred  in  political  theories,  in  the  attitude  of  theologians 
to  science,  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  even  in  methods 
of  athletic  training. 

Criticism  and  discussion,  therefore,  instead  of  being 
deprecated,  ought  to  be  welcome  everywhere.  Without 
them  society  stagnates,  the  intellect  grows  rusty,  and 
prejudice  takes  the  place  of  rational  thought  and  volition. 
Feeling  is  bottled  up  and  is  likely  to  ferment  until  it  bursts 
its  confinement  and  spreads  havoc  around  like  a  volcano. 
Free  speech  and  a  free  press  are  safety-valves  of  democ- 
racy, the  sure  hope  of  progress  throughout  society. 

376.  Socialized  Education. — A  second  step  in  the  edu- 
cational process  is  incitement  to  action.  As  criticism  and 
discussion  are  necessary  to  stimulate  thought,  so  knowl- 
edge and  conviction  are  essential  to  action.  The  educa- 
tional system  that  is  familiar  is  individualistic  in  type  be- 
cause it  emphasizes  individual  achievement,  and  is  based 
on  the  conviction  that  individual  success  is  of  greatest 
consequence  in  life.  There  is  increasing  demand  for  a 
socialized  education  which  will  have  as  its  foundation  a 
body  of  sociological  information  that  will  teach  individuals 
their  social  relations,  a  fund  of  ideas  that  will  be  bequeathed 
from  generation  to  generation  as  the  finest  heritage,  and 
a  system  of  social  ethics  that  will  produce  a  conviction  of 
social  obligation.  The  will  to  do  good  is  the  most  effec- 
tive factor  that  plays  a  part  in  social  life.  This  socializing 
education  has  its  place  in  the  school  grades,  properly  be- 
comes a  major  subject  of  study  in  the  higher  schools,  and 
ideally  belongs  to  every  scheme  of  continued  education  in 
later  life.  The  social  sciences  seem  likely  to  vie  with  the 
physical  sciences,  if  not  eventually  to  surpass  them  as  the 
most  important  department  of  human  knowledge,  for 
while  the  physical  sciences  unlock  the  mysteries  of  the 
natural  world  the  social  sciences  hold  the  key  to  the  mean- 
ing of  ideal  human  life. 


356       Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 


READING  REFERENCES 

ELLWOOD:  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects,  pages  329-340. 
GIDDINGS:  Principles  of  Sociology,  pages  132-152,  376-399. 
GIDDINGS:  Descriptive  and  Historical  Sociology,  pages  124-185. 
COOLEY:  Social  Organization,  pages  3-22. 
WARD:  Psychic  Factors  of  Civilization,  pages  291-312. 
BLACKMAR  AND  GILLIN:  Outlines  of  Sociology,  pages  329-348. 
DEALEY:  Sociology,  pages  67-68,  84-87,  243-257. 
ELLWOOD:  Sociology  and  Modern  Social  Problems,  revised  edition, 
pages  354-367- 


CHAPTER  XLVII 
SOCIAL  THEORIES 

377.  Theories  of  Social  Order  and  Efficiency. — Out  of 
social  experience  and  social  study  have  emerged  certain 
theories  of  social  order  and  efficiency  which  have  received 
marked    attention    and  which   to-day  are  supported  by 
cogent  arguments.     These  theories  fall  under  the  three 
following  heads:  (i)  Those  theories  that  make  social  order 
and   efficiency   dependent   upon   the   control   of   external 
authority;  (2)   those  theories  that  trust  to  the  force  of 
public  opinion  trained  by  social  education;  (3)  those  the- 
ories that  regard  self-control  coming  through  the  develop- 
ment of  personality  as  the  one  essential  for  a  better  social 
order. 

378.  External  Authority  in  History. — The  first  theory 
rests  its  case  on  the  facts  of  history.     Certain  social  insti- 
tutions like  the  family,  the  state,  and  the  church  have 
thrown  restraint  about  the  individual,  and  when  this  re- 
straint is  removed  he  tends  to  run  amuck.     From  the  be- 
ginning the  family  was  the  unit  of  the  social  order,  and 
the  authority  of  its  head  was  the  source  of  wisdom.     Self- 
control  was  not  a  substitute  for  paternal  discipline,  but 
was  a  fact  only  in  presence  of  the  dread  of  paternal  disci- 
pline.    The  idea  of  absolute  authority  passed  over  into 
the  state,  and  absolutism  was  the  theory  of  efficiency  in 
the  ancient  state,  down  to  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire 
in  the  West.     It  was  a  theory  that  made  slavery  possible. 
It  strengthened  the  position  of  the  high  priest  of  every 
religious   cult,   created    the   thought   of   the   kingdom  of 
God  and  moulded  the  Christian  creeds,  and  made  possible 
the  mediaeval  papacy.     It  has  been  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  all  monarchical  government.     It  has  remained  a 
royal  theory  in  eastern  Europe  and  Asia  until  our  own  day, 

357 


358       Society  :  Its  Origin  arid  Development 

and  survives  in  the  political  notion  of  the  right  of  the 
strongest  and  in  the  business  principle  that  capital  must 
control  the  industrial  system  if  prosperity  and  efficiency 
are  to  endure. 

Irresponsible  absolutism  has  been  giving  way  slowly  to 
paternalism.  This  showed  itself  first  in  a  growing  convic- 
tion that  kings  owed  it  to  their  subjects  to  rule  well.  Cer- 
tain enlightened  monarchs  consulted  the  interests  of  the 
people  and,  relying  on  their  own  wisdom,  instituted  mea- 
sures of  reform.  This  type  of  paternalism  was  not  suc- 
cessful, but  it  has  been  imitated  by  modern  states,  even 
republics  like  the  United  States,  in  various  paternalistic 
measures  of  economic  and  social  regulation.  Those  who 
hold  the  theory  that  external  authority  is  necessary  have 
been  urgent  in  calling  for  the  regulation  of  railroads,  of 
trusts,  and  of  combinations  of  labor,  until  some  have  felt 
that  the  authority  of  representative  democracy  bore  more 
heavily  than  the  authority  of  monarchy.  It  is  the  princi- 
ple of  those  who  favor  government  regulation  that  only 
by  governmental  restraint  can  free  competition  continue, 
and  everybody  be  assured  of  a  square  deal;  their  opponents 
argue  that  such  restraint  throttles  ambition  and  is  destruc- 
tive of  the  highest  efficiency  that  comes  as  a  survival  of 
the  fittest  in  the  economic  struggle. 

379.  Socialism. — Socialism  is  a  third  variety  of  the 
theory  that  social  order  and  efficiency  depend  on  external 
authority.  Socialists  aim  at  improving  the  social  welfare 
by  the  collective  control  of  industry.  While  the  advocates 
of  government  regulation  give  their  main  attention  to 
problems  of  production,  the  Socialists  emphasize  the  im- 
portance of  the  proper  distribution  of  products  to  the 
consumers,  and  would  exercise  authority  in  the  partition 
of  the  rewards  of  labor.  They  propose  that  collective 
ownership  of  the  means  of  production  take  the  place  of 
private  ownership,  that  industry  be  managed  by  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people,  that  products  be  distributed  on 
some  just  basis  yet  to  be  devised  by  the  people.  All  that 
will  be  left  to  them  as  individuals  will  be  the  right  to  con- 
sume and  the  possession  of  material  things  not  essential 


Social  Theories  359 

to  the  socialistic  economy.  Certain  Socialist  theories  go 
farther  than  this,  but  this  is  the  essence  of  Socialism. 
Socialists  vary,  also,  as  to  the  use  of  revolutionary  or  evo- 
lutionary means  of  obtaining  their  ends. 

The  main  objections  that  are  made  to  the  theory  of 
Socialism  are:  (i)  That  it  is  contrary  to  nature,  which 
develops  character  and  progress  through  struggle;  (2)  that 
private  property  is  a  natural  right,  and  that  it  would  be 
unjust  to  deprive  individuals  of  what  they  have  secured 
through  thrift  and  foresight,  even  in  the  interest  of  the 
whole  of  society;  (3)  that  an  equitable  distribution  of 
wealth  would  be  impossible  in  any  arbitrary  division;  (4) 
that  no  government  can  possibly  conduct  successfully  such 
huge  enterprises  as  would  fall  to  it;  (5)  that  Socialism 
would  destroy  private  incentive  and  enterprise  by  taking 
away  the  individual  rewards  of  effort;  (6)  that  a  socialistic 
regime  would  be  as  unendurable  an  interference  with  indi- 
vidual liberty  as  any  absolutist  or  paternal  government 
that  the  past  has  seen. 

380.  Educated  Public  Opinion. — The  second  group  of 
theorists  is  composed  of  those  who  would  get  rid  of  pro- 
hibitions and  regulations  as  far  as  possible,  and  trust  to 
the  force  of  an  educated  public  opinion  to  maintain  a  high 
level  of  social  order  and  efficiency.  It  is  a  part  of  the 
theory  that  constraint  exercised  by  a  government  estab- 
lished by  law  marks  a  stage  of  lower  social  development 
than  restraint  exercised  by  the  force  of  public  opinion. 
But  it  must  be  an  educated  public  opinion,  trained  to 
appreciate  the  importance  of  society  and  its  claims  upon 
the  individual,  to  function  rationally  instead  of  impul- 
sively, and  to  seek  the  methods  that  will  be  most  useful 
and  least  expensive  for  the  social  body.  This  training  of 
public  opinion  is  the  task  of  the  school  first  and  then  of 
the  press,  the  pulpit,  and  the  public  forum.  Public  and 
private  commissions,  organized  and  maintained  to  furnish 
information  and  suggest  better  methods,  make  useful  con- 
tributions; public  reports,  if  presented  intelligibly,  impar- 
tially, and  concisely,  are  among  the  helpful  instruments 
of  instruction;  reform  pamphlets  will  again  perform  valu- 


360       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

able  service,  as  they  have  in  past  days  of  moral  and  social 
intensity;  but  it  is  especially  through  the  newspapers  and 
the  forums  for  public  discussion  that  the  social  thinker 
can  best  reach  his  audience,  and  through  these  means 
that  commission  reports  can  best  be  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people.  It  may  very  likely  be  necessary  that 
press  and  platform  be  subsidized  either  by  government  or 
by  private  endowment  to  do  this  work  of  social  training. 

381.  Individualism. — The  third  group  of  theorists  re- 
jects all  varieties  of  external  control  as  of  secondary  value, 
and  has  no  faith  in  the  working  of  public  opinion,  however 
well  educated,  unless  the  character  of  the  individuals  that 
make  up  the  group  is  what  it  should  be.     These  theorists 
regard  self-control   coming   through   the  development  of 
personal  worth  as  the  one  essential  for  a  better  social 
order.     This  individualist   theory  is  held  by  those  who 
are  still  in  bondage  to  the  individualism  that  has  charac- 
terized social   thinking  in   the  last  four  hundred  years. 
There  is  much  in  the  history  of  that  period  that  justifies 
faith  in  the  worth  of  the  individual.     Along  the  lines  of 
material  progress,  especially,  the  individualist  has  made 
good.     Looking  upon  what  has  been  achieved  the  modern 
democrat  expects  further  improvement  in  society  through 
individual  betterment. 

The  arguments  in  defense  of  the  individualist  theory  are : 
(i)  That  natural  science  has  proved  that  social  develop- 
ment is  achieved  only  through  individual  competition,  and 
that  the  best  man  wins;  (2)  that  experience  has  shown 
that  progress  has  been  most  rapid  where  the  individual 
has  had  largest  scope;  (3)  that  it  is  the  teaching  of  Chris- 
tian ethics  that  the  individual  must  work  out  the  salvation 
of  his  own  character,  must  learn  by  experience  how  to  gain 
self-reliance  and  strength  of  will,  and  so  has  the  right  to 
fashion  his  own  course  of  conduct. 

382.  The  Development  of  Personal  Worth. — It  is  evi- 
dent, however,  that  the  usefulness  of  the  individual,  both 
to  himself  and  to  others,  depends  on  his  personal  worth. 
The  self-controlled  man  is  the  man  of  personal  worth,  but 
self-control  is  not  easy  to  secure.     Defendants  of  the  first 


Social  Theories  361 

two  theories  may  admit  that  self-control  is  an  ideal,  but 
they  claim  that  in  the  progress  of  society  it  must  follow, 
not  antedate,  external  authority  and  the  cultivation  of 
public  opinion,  and  that  time  is  not  yet  come.  Only  the 
few  can  be  trusted  yet  to  follow  their  best  judgment  on  all 
occasions,  to  be  on  the  alert  to  maintain  in  themselves 
and  others  highest  efficiency.  Human  nature  is  slowly  in 
the  making.  One  by  one  men  and  women  rise  to  higher 
levels;  social  regeneration  must  therefore  wait  on  individ- 
ual regeneration.  Seeing  the  need  of  a  dynamic  that  will 
create  personal  worth,  the  individualist  has  turned  to 
religion  and  preached  a  doctrine  of  personal  salvation. 
He  has  seen  what  religion  has  done  to  transform  character, 
and  he  believes  with  confidence  that  it  and  it  alone  can 
create  social  salvation  if  we  give  it  time. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  an  increasing  number  of 
social  thinkers  who  regard  each  of  these  three  theories  as 
containing  elements  of  value,  but  believe  that  there  is 
something  beyond  them  that  is  necessary  to  the  highest 
efficiency.  They  consider  that  external  authority  has  been 
necessary,  and  look  upon  a  strong  centralized  government 
with  power  to  create  social  efficiency  as  essential,  but  they 
expect  that  an  increasing  social  consciousness  will  make 
the  exercise  of  authority  gradually  less  necessary.  They 
have  great  confidence  in  trained  public  opinion,  but  do 
not  forget  that  opinion  must  be  vitalized  by  a  strong 
motive,  and  mere  education  does  not  readily  supply  the 
motive.  They  look  for  a  time  when  individual  worth  will 
be  greater  than  now,  and  they  recognize  religion  as  a 
powerful  dynamic  in  the  building  of  character,  but  they 
regard  religion  as  turned  inward  too  much  upon  the  indi- 
vidual. They  would  develop  individual  character  for  the 
sake  of  society,  and  make  a  socialized  religion  the  motive 
power  to  vitalize  public  opinion  so  that  it  shall  function 
with  increasing  efficiency.  A  socialized  religion  supplies  a 
principle,  a  method,  and  a  power.  The  Hebrew  prophets 
and  Jesus  laid  down  the  principle  that  there  is  a  solidarity 
of  interests  to  which  the  claims  of  the  individual  must  be 
subordinate  and  must  be  sacrificed  on  occasion.  The 


362        Society  :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

prophets  and  Jesus  taught  a  method  of  experimentation, 
calling  upon  the  people  whom  they  addressed  to  test  the 
principle  and  see  if  it  worked.  The  prophets  and  Jesus 
showed  that  power  comes  in  the  will  to  do  and  in  actual 
obedience  to  the  principle.  They  looked  for  an  improved 
social  system  reared  on  this  basis  which  would  be  a  real 
"kingdom  of  God,"  not  merely  the  economic  common- 
wealth of  the  Socialist,  but  a  commonwealth  governed  by 
the  principle  of  consecration  to  the  social  welfare,  spiritual 
as  well  as  physical. 

383.  Social  Ideals. — At  the  basis  of  every  theory  lies 
the  individual  with  social  relations.  To  socialize  him  ex- 
ternal authority  is  the  primitive  agent.  This  authority 
may  give  way  in  time  to  the  restraint  of  public  opinion 
made  intelligent  by  a  socialized  education,  but  effective 
public  opinion  is  dependent  on  the  development  of  per- 
sonal worth  in  the  individual.  The  most  powerful  dy- 
namic for  such  development  and  for  social  welfare  in  gen- 
eral is  a  socialized  religion.  If  all  this  be  true,  what  is  it 
that  comprises  social  welfare  ?  In  a  word,  it  is  the  efficient 
functioning  of  every  social  group.  The  family,  the  com- 
munity, the  nation,  and  every  minor  group,  will  serve 
effectually  the  economic,  cultural,  social,  and  spiritual 
needs  of  the  individuals  of  whom  it  is  composed.  Perfect 
functioning  can  follow  only  after  a  long  period  of  progress. 
Such  progress  is  the  ideal  that  society  sets  for  itself.  In 
that  process  there  must  be  full  recognition  of  all  the  factors 
that  enter  into  social  life.  There  is  the  individual  with 
his  rights  and  obligations,  who  must  be  protected  and 
encouraged  to  grow.  There  are  the  institutions  like  the 
family,  the  church,  and  the  state  that  must  receive  recog- 
nition and  maintenance.  There  must  be  liberty  for  each 
group  to  function  freely  without  arbitrary  interference,  as 
long  as  its  privileges  and  acts  do  not  interfere  with  the 
public  good.  Ideal  social  control  is  to  be  exercised  by 
an  enlightened  and  self-restrained  public  opinion  ener- 
gized by  a  socialized  religion.  All  improvements  must 
not  be  looked  for  in  a  moment,  but  can  come  only  slowly 
and  by  frequent  testing  if  they  are  to  be  permanently  ac- 


Social  Theories  363 

cepted.  The  system  that  would  result  would  be  neither 
absolutist,  socialistic,  nor  individualistic,  but  would  con- 
tain the  best  elements  of  all.  It  would  not  be  forced  upon 
a  people,  but  would  be  worked  out  slowly  by  education 
and  experiment.  Social  institutions  would  not  be  tyran- 
nous but  helpful,  and  human  happiness  would  be  mate- 
rially increased. 

READING  REFERENCES 

ELLWOOD:  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects,  pages  352-381. 

NEAJRING  AND  WATSON:  Economics,  pages  443-493. 

BLACKMAR  AND  GILLIN:  Outlines  of  Sociology,  pages  373-392. 

DEALEY:  Sociology,  pages  351-361. 

SKELTON:  Socialism,  pages  16-61. 

CARNEGIE:  Problems  of  To-day,  pages  121-139. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 
THE  SCIENCE  OF  SOCIOLOGY 

384.  Sociology  vs.  Social  Philosophy. — Sociology  is  one 
of  the  recent  sciences.     It  had  to  wait  for  the  scientific 
method  of  exact  investigation  and  the  scientific  principle 
of  forming  conclusions  upon  abundant  data.     Naturally, 
theories  of  society  were  held  long  before  any  science  came 
into  existence,  but  they  were  of  value  only  as  philosophiz- 
ing.    Some  of  these  theories  were  published  and  attracted 
the  attention  of  thoughtful  persons,  but  they  did  not  affect 
social  life.     Some  of  them  developed  into  philosophies  of 
history,  based  on  the  preconceived  ideas  of  their  authors. 
Now  and  then  in  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
certain  social  experiments  were  made  in  the  form  of  co- 
operative communities,  which  it  was  fondly  hoped  would 
become  practical  methods  for  a  better  social  order,  but 
they  almost  uniformly  failed  because  they  were  artificial 
rather  than  of  natural  growth,   and   because  they  were 
based  on  principles  that  public  opinion  had  not  yet  sanc- 
tioned.    The  story  of  the  predecessors  of  modern  sociology 
naturally  is  preliminary  to  the  history  of  sociology  itself. 

385.  Philosophers  and  Prophets. — Two  classes  of  men 
in  ancient  time  worked  on  the  problems  of  society,  one 
from  the  practical  standpoint,  the  other  from  the  philo- 
sophic.    One  group  of  names  includes  the  great  statesmen 
and  lawgivers,  like  Moses,  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
Hebrew  nation  and  gave  it  the  nucleus  of  a  legal  system; 
Solon  and  Lycurgus,  traditional  lawgivers  of  Athens  and 
Sparta,  and  several  of  the  earlier  kings  and  later  emperors 
of  Rome.     The   other  group   is   composed   of  men  who 
thought  much  about  human  life  and  disseminated  their 
opinions  by  writing  and  teaching.     For  the  most  part  they 
were  idealistic  philosophers,  but  their  influence  was  far- 
reaching  in  time.     In  the  list  belong  Plato,  who  in  his 

364 


The  Science  of  Sociology  365 

Republic  outlined  an  ideal  society  that  was  the  prototype 
of  later  fanciful  commonwealths;  Aristotle,  who  made  a 
real  contribution  to  political  science  in  his  Politics  ;  Cicero, 
who  himself  participated  actively  in  government  and  wrote 
out  his  theories  or  spoke  them  in  public,  and  Augustine, 
who  gave  his  conception  of  a  Christian  state  in  the  City 
of  God. 

During  the  period  when  ancient  ways  were  giving  place 
to  modem,  and  a  transition  was  taking  place  in  the  realm 
of  ideas,  Thomas  More,  in  his  Utopia,  and  Campanella 
in  his  City  of  the  Sun,  published  their  conceptions  of  an 
ideal  state,  while  Machiavelli  took  society  as  it  was,  and 
in  his  Prince  suggested  how  it  might  be  governed  better. 
These  are  all  evidences  that  there  was  dissatisfaction  with 
existing  systems,  but  no  unanimity  of  opinion  as  to  possible 
improvements.  Later  theories  were  no  more  satisfactory. 
The  French  Revolutionary  philosophers,  especially  Rous- 
seau, with  his  theory  of  voluntary  social  contract,  and  the 
Utopian  dreamers  who  followed,  were  longing  for  justice 
and  political  efficiency,  but  their  theories  seem  crude  and 
visionary  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  social  science  of 
the  present  day. 

386.  Experimenting  with  Society. — Robert  Owen  in 
England  and  Fourier  and  Saint-Simon  in  France  were 
prophets  of  an  ideal  order  which  they  tried  to  establish. 
Believing  that  all  men  were  intended  to  be  happy,  and 
that  happiness  depended  on  a  reorganization  of  the  social 
environment  in  which  property  should  be  socialized,  at 
least  in  part,  they  organized  volunteers  into  model  com- 
munities, expecting  that  their  success  would  attract  men 
everywhere  to  imitate  the  new  organization.  The  arrange- 
ment of  industry  was  planned  in  detail,  a  co-operative  sys- 
tem was  organized  that  would  keep  every  man  busy  at 
useful  labor  without  working  him  too  hard,  would  take 
away  the  profits  of  the  middleman  by  a  well-planned  sys- 
tem of  distribution,  and  would  allow  liberty  in  social  rela- 
tions as  far  as  consistent  with  the  general  good,  but  would 
subordinate  the  individual  to  the  community.  Certain  of 
the  Utopians  thought  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  the 


366        Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

state  to  determine  the  minutiae  of  daily  life,  and  for  a 
few  directors  to  prescribe  activities,  and  they  introduced 
a  uniformity  in  dress,  food,  and  houses  that  savored  of 
the  old-fashioned  orphan  asylum.  These  features,  together 
with  the  failure  to  understand  that  social  institutions  could 
not  be  made  to  order,  and  that  human  nature  was  not  of 
such  quality  as  to  make  an  ideal  commonwealth  at  once 
actual,  soon  wrecked  these  Utopian  schemes  and  brought 
to  an  end  the  first  period  of  socialistic  experiments. 

387.  Biological  Sociologists.— Not  a  few  writers  in  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  before  sociology  was 
born,  recognized  the  need  and  the  possibility  of  a  true  sci- 
ence of  society.     Scholars  were  studying  and  writing  upon 
other  sciences  that  are  related  to  sociology — biology,  his- 
tory, economics,  and  politics.     Scientific  information  about 
the  various  races  of  mankind  was  accumulating.     At  length 
Auguste  Comte,  a  Frenchman,  found  a  place  for  sociology 
among  the  sciences  and  declared  it  to  be  the  highest  of 
them  all.     In  1842  he  completed  the  publication  of  the 
Positive  Philosophy,  in  which  he  maintained  that  human 
society  is  an  organism  similar  to  biological  organisms,  and 
that  its  activities  can  be  systematized  and  generalizations 
be  deduced  therefrom  for  the  formation  of  a  true  science. 
In  his  Descriptive  Sociology  and  later  works  Herbert  Spencer 
in  England  amplified  the  theory  of  Comte  and  arranged  a 
mass  of  facts  as  evidence  of  its  truth.     He  put  too  much 
emphasis  on  biological  resemblances  in  the  opinion  of  pres- 
ent-day sociologists,  but  his  emphasis  on  inductive  study 
and  his  generalizations  from  biology  were  important  con- 
tributions to  the  development  of  the  new  science. 

388.  Psychological   Sociologists. — Comte  and  Spencer 
were  followed  by  other  biological  sociologists  whose  names 
are  well  known  to  students  of  the  science.     Interest  was 
aroused  in  Great  Britain,  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and 
in  America.     Students  were  influenced  by  conclusions  that 
were  being  reached  in  biology,  in  economics,  and  in  other 
allied  departments  of  thought,  but  the  one  science  which 
became  most  prominent  to  the  minds  of  sociologists  was 
psychology.     Ward's  Dynamic  Sociology,  published  in  1883, 


The  Science  of  Sociology  367 

marked  an  epoch,  because  it  called  special  attention  to 
the  psychic  factors  that  enter  into  social  life.  After  him 
it  became  increasingly  clear  that  the  true  social  forces 
were  psychic,  though  physical  conditions  affected  social 
progress.  A  younger  school  of  sociologists  has  come  into 
existence,  and  the  science  is  being  developed  on  that  basis. 
More  than  one  individual  thinker  has  made  his  special 
contribution,  and  there  is  still  a  variety  of  opinion  on 
details,  but  the  general  principles  of  the  science  are  being 
worked  out  in  substantial  agreement.  It  is  not  to  be 
expected  that  such  a  complex  and  comprehensive  science 
could  be  completed  in  its  short  history  of  approximately 
half  a  century,  or  that  it  can  ever  be  made  exact,  like 
mathematics  or  the  natural  sciences,  but  there  is  every 
reason  to  expect  the  development  of  a  body  of  classified 
facts  that  will  be  of  inestimable  value  in  attacking  social 
problems,  and  of  principles  that  will  serve  as  a  guide 
through  the  labyrinth  of  social  life.  The  value  of  any 
science  is  not  in  the  perfection  of  its  system,  but  in  the 
practical  application  which  can  be  made  of  it  to  human 
progress. 

389.  Relation  of  Sociology  to  the  Natural  Sciences. — 
Sociology  has  relations  to  an  outer  circle  of  general  sciences 
and  to  an  inner  circle  of  social  sciences.  It  is  itself  but 
one  of  the  social  sciences,  though  it  is  regarded  as  chief 
among  them.  Man  looks  out  upon  the  universe,  of  which 
he  is  but  an  atom,  and  asks  questions.  Astronomy  brings 
to  him  the  findings  of  its  telescopes  and  spectrum  analyses. 
Geology  explains  the  transformations  that  have  taken 
place  in  the  earth  on  which  he  lives.  Physics  and  chemis- 
try analyze  its  substance  and  reveal  the  laws  of  nature. 
Biology  opens  up  the  field  of  life.  Psychology  investigates 
the  structure  and  functions  of  the  human  mind,  and  shows 
that  all  activity  is  at  base  mental.  At  last  the  'new 
sociology  discloses  human  life  in  all  its  complex  relation- 
ships, the  function  of  the  social  mind,  and  the  channels 
through  which  it  works.  Since  social  life  is  lived  in  a 
world  where  physical  and  mental  factors  are  constantly 
in  action,  there  is  a  close  connection  between  all  the  sci- 


368       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

ences.  Although  social  life  is  not  so  closely  similar  to 
animal  life  as  was  thought  previously,  the  principles  of 
biology  are  important  to  the  sociologist  because  biology  is 
the  science  of  all  life.  Psychology  is  important  because  it 
is  the  science  of  all  mind. 

390.  Relations  of  Sociology  and  Other  Social  Sciences. 
—There  are  many  phases  of  human  experience  and  differ- 
ences of  relationship.  Obviously  the  specific  sciences  that 
deal  with  them  have  a  still  closer  relation  to  sociology. 
Economics,  for  example,  has  as  its  field  the  economic  rela- 
tions and  activities  that  are  connected  with  the  business 
of  making  a  living.  The  production,  distribution,  and 
use  of  material  things  is  the  subject  that  absorbs  the  econ- 
omist. The  sociologist  makes  use  of  the  facts  and  princi- 
ples of  economics  to  throw  light  on  the  economic  functions 
of  society,  but  the  economic  field  is  only  one  sector  of  his 
concern.  In  a  similar  way  political  science  is  related  to 
sociology.  It  deals  with  the  organization  and  develop- 
ment of  government  and  embraces  the  departments  of 
national  and  international  law,  but  the  governmental  func- 
tion of  the  social  group  is  but  one  of  the  divisions  of  the 
interests  that  absorb  the  sociologist.  He  uses  the  data 
and  conclusions  of  the  political  scientists,  but  in  a  more 
general  way.  It  is  the  same  with  the  sociologist  and  his- 
tory. History  supplies  much  of  the  data  of  the  sociologist 
from  the  records  of  the  past.  It  deals  with  social  life  in 
the  concrete,  and  historical  interpretation  is  essential  to 
an  understanding  of  social  phenomena,  but  sociology  takes 
the  past  with  the  present,  analyzes  both,  and  generalizes 
from  both  as  to  the  laws  of  the  social  process.  Pedagogy 
deals  with  the  history  and  principles  of  education.  Sociol- 
ogy is  interested  in  the  educational  function  of  the  family, 
of  the  community,  and  of  the  nation,  but  again  its  interest 
is  from  the  standpoint  of  abstraction  and  generalization. 
Ethics  is  a  science  that  treats  of  the  right  and  wrong  con- 
duct of  human  beings.  It  is  very  closely  associated  with 
sociology,  because  the  valuation  of  conduct  depends  on 
social  effects,  but  the  moral  functioning  of  the  group  is 
but  one  phase  of  social  life,  and,  therefore,  ethics  is  far 


The  Science  of  Sociology  369 

narrower  in  its  range  than  sociology.  Theology,  the  science 
of  religion,  has  sociological  implications.  As  far  as  it  is  a 
science  and  not  a  philosophy,  it  rests  upon  human  interest 
and  human  experience,  and  it  is  becoming  increasingly 
recognized  that  these  human  interests  depend  on  social 
relationships,  but  all  the  religious  interests  of  men  are  but 
one  part  of  the  field  of  sociology. 

It  is  clear  that  each  of  the  social  sciences  holds  a  rela- 
tion to  sociology  of  the  particular  to  the  general.  Sociol- 
ogy seeks  out  the  laws  and  principles  that  unify  all  the 
rest.  It  does  not  include  them  all,  as  does  the  term  social 
science,  but  it  correlates  and  interprets  them  all.  It  is 
not  the  same  as  philosophy,  for  that  subject  has  for  its 
field  all  knowledge,  and  especially  tries  to  probe  to  the 
secrets  of  all  being,  and  to  learn  the  meaning  of  the  uni- 
verse as  a  whole,  while  sociology  is  restricted  to  social  life. 
Each  has  its  distinct  place  among  the  studies  of  the  human 
mind,  and  each  should  be  distinguished  carefully  from  its 
rivals  and  associates. 

391.  Social  Classification. — When  we  enter  into  the 
field  of  sociology  itself  we  find  other  distinctions  to  be 
necessary.  The  novice  frequently  confounds  similar  terms. 
Not  infrequently  sociology  and  socialism  are  used  as 
synonymous  terms  by  persons  who  know  little  of  either, 
so  that  it  is  necessary  to  point  out  that  socialism  is  a  par- 
ticular theory  of  social  organization  and  functioning,  while 
sociology  is  the  general  science  that  includes  all  varieties 
of  social  theory,  along  with  social  fact,  and  especially  is 
it  necessary  to  explain  that  any  fallacies  of  socialistic 
theory  do  not  invalidate  well-established  conclusions  of 
social  science.  Another  common  error  is  to  identify  so- 
ciology with  social  reform.  Social  pathology  is  too  im- 
portant a  branch  of  sociology  to  be  omitted  or  minimized, 
but  it  is  only  one  division  of  the  subject,  and  all  measures 
as  well  as  theories  of  social  reform  are  only  a  small  part 
of  the  concern  of  sociology.  Such  terms  as  philanthropy, 
criminology,  and  penology  all  have  connection  with  sociol- 
ogy, but  they  need  to  be  carefully  differentiated  from  the 
more  general  term. 


370       Society :  Its  Origin  and  Development 

Sociology  itself  has  been  variously  classified  under  the 
terms  pure  and  applied,  static  and  dynamic,  descriptive 
and  theoretical.  Terms  have  changed  somewhat,  as  the 
psychological  emphasis  has  supplanted  the  biological.  It 
is  important  that  terms  should  be  used  correctly  and 
should  be  sanctioned  by  custom,  but  it  is  not  necessary 
to  make  sharp  distinction  between  all  the  different  divi- 
sions, old  and  new.  Classification  is  a  matter  of  con- 
venience and  technic;  though  it  may  have  a  scientific 
basis,  it  is  entirely  a  matter  of  form.  There  is  always 
danger  that  a  particular  classification  may  become  a  fetich. 
It  is  the  life  of  society  that  we  study,  it  is  the  improve- 
ment of  social  relations  at  which  we  aim.  Whatever 
method  best  contributes  to  this  end  is  valid  in  classifica- 
tion for  all  except  those  who  delight  in  science  for  science's 
sake. 

392.  The  Permanent  Place  of  Sociology. — The  study 
of  the  science  of  social  life  is  eminently  worth  while,  for 
it  deals  with  matters  that  are  of  vital  importance  to  the 
human  race  and  every  one  of  its  individual  members.  For 
that  reason  it  is  likely  to  receive  growing  recognition  as 
among  the  most  important  subjects  with  which  the  human 
mind  can  deal.  It  is  vast  in  its  range,  exacting  in  its  de- 
mand of  unremitting  investigation  and  careful  generaliza- 
tion, stimulating  in  its  intense  practicality.  Its  abstrac- 
tions require  the  closest  reasoning  of  the  scholar,  but  its 
basis  in  the  concrete  facts  of  daily  life  tends  to  make  it 
popular.  Once  understood  and  appreciated,  sociology  is 
likely  to  become  the  guide-book  by  which  social  effort 
will  be  directed,  and  the  standard  by  which  it  will  be 
measured.  As  progress  becomes  in  this  way  more  telic  it 
will  become  more  rapid.  Social  life  will  approach  more 
nearly  the  norm  that  sociology  describes,  but  until  the 
day  that  society  ceases  to  be  pathological,  sociology  will 
teach  a  social  ideal  as  a  goal  toward  which  society  must 
bend  its  energies.  As  human  life  is  the  most  precious  gift 
that  the  world  bestows,  so  the  science  of  that  life  is  worthy 
of  being  called  the  gem  of  the  sciences. 


The  Science  of  Sociology  371 


READING   REFERENCES 

DEALEY:  Sociology,  pages  19-40. 

BLACKMAR  AND  GILLIN:  Outlines  of  Sociology,  pages  13-47,  541-564. 

GIDDINGS:  Principles  of  Sociology,  pages  3-51. 

ELL  WOOD:  Sociology  in  Its  Psychological  Aspects,  pages  29-65. 

Ross:  Foundations  of  Sociology,  pages  15-28,  256-348. 

SMALL:  General  Sociology,  pages  40-97. 


INDEX 


Achievement,  5,  115,  341. 

Activity,  2-6,  88,  in,  117,  164,  170,  188, 

236,  237,  298,  346. 
Adaptation,  31,  234,  333-335,  342,  343, 

349-351- 

Administration,  320,  321. 
Adultery,  75-78,  81. 
Esthetics,  144. 
Aggregation,  348. 
Agricultural  clubs,  107,  118. 
Agricultural  colleges,  107,  164. 
Agricultural  fairs,  107. 
Agriculture,  52,  99,  100,  104,  106,  118. 
Almshouses,  272. 
American  Civic  Federation,  148. 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  192. 
American  Vigilance  Association,  85. 
Amusements,  86,  164,  238-240. 
Ancestor-worship,  32. 
Arbitration,  191,  194,  195,  335,  336. 
Art,  283. 

Assimilation,  327. 
Association,  6-9,  17-23,  53,  54,  88,  108, 

109,  in,  118,  133,  152,  164,  170,  188, 

233,  236,  240,  254,  294,  307,  308,  337, 

338,  344-346,  348,  349. 
Athletics,  109,  in,  112,  196,  237,  240, 

308,  309. 
Attention,  345,  351. 

Banks,  106,  307. 

Big  Brother  idea,  251. 

Biological  analogies,  342,  343. 

Birth-rate,  42. 

Boards  of  Conciliation,  194,  195. 

Boy  Scouts,  no,  251. 

Boys'  Clubs,  no. 

Cabinet,  320,  321. 

Camp-Fire  Girls,  112. 

Catholic  Church,  76,  271,  276. 

Census  of  marriage  and  divorce,  35,  74, 

77- 
Change,  10-13,  88,  129,  170,  173-176, 

189,  236,  351. 


Charity,  242,  267,  271-277. 

Charity  organization,  57,  267,  272-276. 

Charter,  257,  260,  261. 

Chautauqua  Movement,  118,  133,  309. 

Child  labor,  49-53,  190,  191,  235. 

Children,  42-59. 

Dependency  of,  56-58. 

Relief  of,  57,  58. 

Rights  of,  42,  48,  53-55- 
Children's  aid  societies,  58. 
Chinese  Exclusion  Act,  329. 
Christianity,  32,  76. 
Church,   The,  156-161,    252,    287-293, 
310,  311,  338,  353. 

In  the  city,  287-293. 

In  the  country.    See  Rural  church. 
Church  charity,  275,  276. 
Church  organization,  290-293. 
City,  The,  169  ff.,  294-299. 

Attraction  of,  171,  172. 

Characteristics  of,  169. 

Economic  interests  in,  180. 

Government  of,  256-262. 

Growth  of,  170. 

History  of,  177-179. 

Importance  of,  176. 

Improvement  of,  295-298. 

In  the  making,  294-298. 

Manager,  261,  262. 

Neighborhood,  284,  285. 

Opportunities  in,  173,  175. 
Classes,  212-218. 
Classification,  370. 
Clubs,  107,  110-112,  116,  118,  133,  134, 

148. 

Collective  bargaining,  194. 
College  life,  10,  12,  85,  131,  132. 
Commerce,  205,  206,  337. 
Commission  government,  260,  261. 
Commissions,  195,  199,  233. 
Communication,  116,  118,  281,  288,  294, 

307,  336,  337,  349- 
Community  house,  163,  164. 
Community  leadership,  164-168. 
Community  obligation,  154. 


373 


374 


Index 


Competition,  107,  108,  227. 

Conference,  297,  298. 

Conflict,  31,   115,   186,   187,   104,  320, 

328,  334,  353. 

Congregational  churches,  77. 
Control,  9,  10,  88,  136,  142,  170,  188, 
189,  197-199,  203,  208-210,  234,  246, 
256,  258,  298,  303,  314,  352,  357,  358. 
Co-operation,  31,  53,  63, 89,  90, 105-107, 
129,  130,  198-200,  205,  206,  297,  298, 
365- 

Cost  of  living,  69,  76,  89. 
Country  store,  116. 
Court  of  Domestic  Relations,  79. 
Courts.     See  Judiciary. 
Craft  guilds,  182. 

Crime,  75,  84,  oo,  154,  228,  235,  240, 
242,  244,  246,  248-255. 
Causes  of,  248-250. 
Discharge,  253,  254. 
Prevention  of,  250-252. 
Punishment,  252-254. 
Reformation,  252,  254. 
Criticism,  353. 
Crowds,  22,  23. 
Cruelty,  48,  49,  75,  77,  ?8. 
Custom,  139,  152,  334,  349. 

Dance-halls,  82,  84,  238,  240. 

Decision,  351,  354. 

Defectives,  84,  86. 

Degeneracy,  43-46,  218,  219,  228. 

Delinquency,  154.    See  Crime. 

Democracy,    141,    189,    190,    196,   298, 

309,  316-319,  327- 
Democracy  in  industry,  189,  190. 
Department  stores,  201,  203. 
Dependency,  56,  57,  271.     See  Charity. 
Desertion,  70,  75,  77,  78,  267. 
Desires,  334.  345-347- 
Difficulties  of  working  people,  263-270. 
Discrimination,  345,351. 
Discussion,  284-286,  353,  354. 
Division  of  labor,  62,  125. 
Divorce,  74-80,  88. 

Catholic  attitude  toward,  76 

Causes  of,  75,  76,  267. 

Difficulty  of,  77. 

History  of,  76. 

In  Europe,  74-78. 

Laws  of,  74-79. 

Protestant  attitude  toward,  76,  77. 

Remedies  for,  78,  79. 
Divorce  court,  79. 


Divorce  proctor,  79. 
Drama,  283,  284.     See  Theatre. 
Duelling,  194. 
Dynamic  society,  2,  10. 

East,  The,  100,  139,  140,  224. 
Economics,  180,  368. 
Education,  55,  120-131,  280,  327,  328, 
331,  339,  346,  353-355- 

Agricultural,  124,  127,  128. 

Cultural,  122,  132. 

Industrial,  251,  331. 

Moral  and  religious,  160,  251,  287, 
291. 

Principles  of,  120-124. 

Rural,  120-131. 

Vocational,  121,  123,  267,  268,  296. 

Weaknesses  of,  123,  124. 
Edwards  family,  45,  46. 
Elberfeld  system,  275. 
Election,  317,  318. 
Employers'  liability,  191,  192. 
Environment,   25,   26,  40,  47,  48,  09, 
100,  105,  121,  125,  169,  235,  248,  327, 
334,  340-343,  345,  350,  351- 
Erdman  Act,  195. 
Ethics,  202,  368. 
Eugenics,  43-47,  oo. 
Euthenics,  47,  48. 
Evangelical  Alliance,  311. 
Evangelism,  288,  289. 
Evolution,  342,  343. 
Exchange,  64,  201-203. 
Executive,  320,  321. 
Experimentation,  128,  187. 

Factory  life,  188. 

Factory  system,  51,  182-184. 

Family,  24  f.,  88-90. 

Changes  in,  65,  67-09,  76. 

Functions  of,  26,  27,  88. 

History  of,  20-33. 

Mediaeval,  33,  37-39. 

On  the  farm,  25,  26,  64,  65,  350. 

Reform,  88-00. 

Roman,  32,  37. 

Study  of,  24. 

Urban,  68. 

Farmers'  Institute,  118. 
Farmers'  Union,  117. 
Federal  Council  of  churches,  77,  310, 

311- 

Federation,  334,  335. 
Feeble-mindedness,  44,  84. 


Index 


375 


Feeling,  344,  345,  355. 
Feminism,  71,  72. 
Folk-ways.     See  Social  habits. 
Forum,  284-286,  360. 
Friendly  visiting,  274. 

Galveston  plan,  260,  261. 
Gambling,  153,  235,  239. 
Gangs,  22,  109-111. 

Germans,  223,  259,  260,  269,  322,  335. 
Girls'  clubs,  in,  112. 
Government,   136-143,   195,   208,   256- 
262,  313-327- 

City,  256-262. 

National,  313-3^3. 

Rural,  136-143. 

Government  ownership,  208,  209. 
Grange,  117,  284. 
Great  Britain,  44,  259,  269,  316,  317, 

322. 
Group  consciousness,  18,  192. 

Habits,  334,  345- 
Hague  Conferences,  335. 
Health,    85,    144-148,    196,    233,    242, 
267,  307,  308. 

Clubs,  148. 

Nurses  and  physicians,    147,   148, 
296. 

Officials,  146,  147. 
Hebrew  Charities,  276. 
Heredity,  26,  46,  249,  342. 
History,  368. 
Home,  37-42. 

Children  in  the,  42,  oo. 

Education  in  the,  39,  55,  56. 

History  of  the,  37-39. 

Ideal,  40. 

Man  in  the,  70. 

Modern,  39,  40,  67-71. 

Rural,  121,  122. 

Values  of  the,  39,  40. 

Women  in  the,  69. 
Home  economics,  60-66. 
Hospitals,  272,  296. 
Hours  of  labor,  190,  207. 
Housing,  86,  89,  230-234,  252,  350. 
Hull  House,  277,  278. 

Imitation,  349,  351. 

Immigrants  and  Immigration,  82,  86, 
102,  170,  171,  221-229,  250,  327-329. 

Asiatic,  328,  329. 

Causes  and  effects  of,  227,  228. 


German,  223. 

History  of,  221-226. 

Irish,  222. 

Italian,  224,  225. 

Jewish,  225,  226. 

Lesser  peoples,  226. 

Problems  of,  327. 

Scandinavians,  223,  224. 

Slavs,  225. 

Imprisonment,  78.     See  Crime. 
Impulse,  345. 
Individual,  The,  128,  144,  151,  152,  192, 

203,  248,  343-347,  360. 
Individualism,   72,   73,  75,  78,  88,  89, 

107,  144,  149,  360. 
Industrial  control,  189,  190. 
Industrial  problem,  183,  186-200. 

Principles  for  solution  of  the,  197- 

200. 

Industrial  reform,  190. 
Industrial  revolution,  178,  184. 
Industrial  schools,  58. 
Initiative,  261. 
Insanity,  44,  78,  244. 
Instincts,  27,  109,  in,  112,  344,  345, 

348. 

Insurance,  106,  269. 
Intemperance,  75,  78,  84,  90,  153,  233, 
240,  241. 

Results    of,    242-244.     See    Tem- 

peranae. 

Interests,  302-304,  311,  334,  34S~347- 
International  law,  320,  335. 
International  Workers  of  the  World, 

193- 

Internationalism,  333-339. 
Invention,  184,  206,  341,  345. 
Irish,  222. 
Italians,  224,  225. 

Jews,  225,  226. 
Judiciary,  321,  322. 
Jukes,  44,  45. 
Juvenile  courts,  154,  254. 

Kallikak  family,  45. 

Labor,  61-63. 

Division  of,  62. 

Hired,  63. 

Organization  of,  192,  193. 
Labor  bureaus,  191,  193,  268. 
Labor  conditions,  184. 
Labor  exchanges,  269, 


376 


Index 


Labor  unions,  192,  193,  207. 
Lack  of  support,  75. 
Law,  136,  137,  142,  258,  321,  322,  349. 
Lawgivers,  364. 
Lawlessness,  54,  55,  235. 
Legislation,  319,  320.     See  Social  legis- 
lation. 

Liberty,  54,  55. 
Libraries,  132,  282,  283. 
License,  83,  246. 
Like-mindedness,  192,  308. 
Local  Government  Act,  259. 
Local  option,  141,  246. 

Manufacturing,  180-185. 

History  of,  181-183. 
Marriage,  27,  29-36,  46,  76,  79,  84. 

Ideals  of,  35,  36,  79. 

Laws  of,  34,  35,  77,  78. 

Reforms,  35. 
Mass  meeting,  19. 
Massachusetts   Society   for   Promoting 

Good  Citizenship,  260. 
Maternity  benefits,  44. 
Metronymic  period,  30. 
Misery,  263. 
Missions,  338,  339. 
Mobs,  22,  55,  348. 
Monogamy,  29,  31,  33. 
Monopoly,  208-210,  242. 
Morals,    151-155,    175,    230,    232,   235, 
237,  242,  349. 

Definition  of,  151. 

In  the  city,  175,  230,  232,  235,  237. 

Rural,  151-155. 
Morals  commission,  86. 
Morals  court,  86. 
Moving  pictures,  82,  86,  112,  238,  240, 

283. 

Municipal  ownership,  260. 
Municipal  reform,  260. 
Music,   133,   164,    165,   237,   241,   283, 
284,  310. 

Nation,  The,  300-332. 

Economics  in,  306,  307. 
Education  in,  309. 
Functions  of,  305-311,  314. 
Government  of,  313-323. 
Health  in,  307,  308. 
History  of,  301,  302. 
Philanthropy  in,  310. 
Problems  of,  324-332. 
Sport  in,  308. 


National  Bureau  of  Education,  309. 
National  Conference  of  Charities  and 

Corrections,  273,  310. 
National  Conference  on  Unemployment, 

269. 

National  Divorce  Reform  League,  77. 
National  Education  Association,  309. 
National  Insurance  Act,  44. 
National  Municipal  League,  260. 
National  Reform  League,  260. 
Nature  study,  127. 
Neglect,  48,  75. 
Negro  problem,  329-331. 
Newspapers,   252,   281,   284,  336,  353, 

354,  360. 

Occupations,  104,  181,  235,  345. 

Offices,  204. 

Organization,  2,  8,  9,  22,  23,  109,  no, 
in,  118,  133,  140,  149,  182-184,  188, 
196,  210,  259,  260,  290-293,  317-323. 

Organization  of  labor,  192,  193. 

Parks,  238. 

Parole,  253. 

Paternalism,  358. 

Patriarchal  household,  30,  32,  49,  61. 

Pauperism,  268. 

Personality,  i,  54,  344,  347,  349. 

Personal  worth,  360,  361. 

Persuasion,  352. 

Philosophers,  364,  365. 

Placing-out  system,  57,  58. 

Play,  53,  54,  109,  235,  236,  239. 

Playgrounds,  108,  235,  236. 

Police,  258,  259. 

Political  science,  368. 

Politics,   137,   138,   141,  142,   194,  244, 

252,  260. 
Polyandry,  31. 
Polygyny,  30,  31. 

Population,  100-103,  i?6,  i?7,  223, 
232,  248. 

Characteristics  of,  100,  101. 

Composition  of,  101,  102,  223. 

Congestion  of,  207. 

Growth  of,  102. 
Poverty,  84,  oo,  228,  242,  246,  266-270. 

Causes  of,  267-269. 

Remedies  for,  267,  268. 
Press,  The,  280-282. 
Primaries,  141,  260,  261. 
Probation,  251,  253. 
Profanity,  153,  235. 


Index 


377 


Profit-sharing,  196. 
Progress,  35i~353- 
Genetic,  351,  352. 
Telic,  352,  353. 
Prophets,  365,  366. 
Prosperity,  324,  325. 
Prostitution,  81-88. 
Protestant-Episcopal  Church,  77. 
Psychology,  344-346. 
Public  opinion,  34,  35,  59,  78,  79,  81, 

82,  123,  142,  210,  237,  246,  252,  282, 

320,  350-361. 
Punishment.     See  Crime. 

Race  problem,  327-332. 

Railways,  207,  208. 

Raines  Law  hotels,  84. 

Reading-circles,  133. 

Reason,  3,  4,  17. 

Recall,  261. 

Recreation,  53,  54,  108-114,  164,  196, 

235,  238,  252,  254,  308,  309. 
Referendum,  141,  193,  198,  261. 
Reformatories,  84,  86. 
Relief,  57,  58,  267,  271-277. 
Religion,  34,  39,  230,  287-293,  349,  361. 
Religious  education,  160,  287,  291. 
Remarriage,  77. 
Rescue  homes,  86. 
Royal  Commission  on  Divorce,  78. 
Rural  church,  156-161. 

Function  of,  157,  160. 

Minister  of,  158. 

Needs  of,  159,  160. 

New,  1 60. 

Problems  of,  158,  159. 

Value  of,  156,  157. 
Rural  emigration,  67,  102,  ly'i'.'iys. 
Rural  Life  Commission,  153,  154. 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  268,  295. 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  276. 
Saloon,  The,  84,  173,  238,  240,  241,  243. 
Salvation  Army,  293. 
Scandinavians,  223,  224. 
Schools,  The,  120-131,  141,  236,  280. 

Consolidated,  125,  129. 

Continuation,  129,  165. 

Curriculum  of,  121,  122,  127,  128, 

354- 

District,  124,  125,  284. 
Normal,  123,  130,  131. 
State,  58. 
Teaching  in,  124,  129,  130. 


School  districts,  140. 

Scientific  management,  196. 

Segregation,  83,  85,  250,  272,  296. 

Self-control,  360,  361. 

Servant  class,  62,  63,  69,  82,  89,  182. 

Settlements,  277-279. 

Sewing-circles,  116,  117. 

Sex  hygiene,  55,  90. 

Sexual  impurity,  81,  88,  90,  153,  154, 

233.     See  Prostitution. 
»Slavery,  62,  182. 
Slavs,  225. 
Slums,  38,  231-233. 
Sociability,  108,  in,  164,  171. 
Social  analysis,  340-371. 
Social  centres,   117,  163,  164,  176-179, 

241,  242,  284-286. 
Social  characteristics,  2-14,  88,  129. 
Social  contract,  315. 
Social  degeneration,  103. 
Social  development,  2,  334,  342,  360. 
Social  education,  35,  39,  46,56,80,86,87, 

90,  no,  121,  123,  237,254,330,331. 
Social  elements.     See  Social  factors. 
Social  factors,  4,  16,  17,  68,  187,  188, 

333,  334,  34°-356. 
Physical,  343. 
Psychic,  344-356. 

Social  groups,  14-23,  53,  54,  349,  350. 
Social  habits,  349,  351. 
Social  ideals,  362,  363. 
Social  institutions,   21,   24,  57,  58,  oo, 

115-120,    162,    168,    169,    237,    280, 

337-339,  357- 
Social  legislation,  44,  52,  53,  142,  190, 

191,  194,  222,  250,  268. 
Social  mind,  17-19,  54,  344,  348. 
Social  organization.     See  Organization. 
Social  pathology,  369. 
Social  problems,  14,  210,  221,  228,  242, 

298. 

Social  reform,  369. 
Social  relations,  i,  6-8,  24,  31,  47,  90, 

108,  169,  187,  189,  195,  203,  237,  314, 

332,  334,  365- 

Social  science,  128,  129,  298,  355,  365. 
Social  selection,  31,  342,  343. 
Social  service,  89. 
Social  sympathy,  89. 
Social  theories,  315,  357-363,  365. 
Social  utility,  4. 
Social  values,  39,  40,  108,  337. 
Social  weaknesses,  13,  14,  88,  123,  124, 

170,  175,  189,  324. 


378 


Index 


Social  welfare,  73,  186,  igi,  196,  202, 

210,  212,  300,  343,  358. 
Socialism,  197,  314,  358,  359,  369. 

Objections  to,  359. 
Society,  i,  2. 
Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty 

to  Children,  57. 
Sociology,  2,  364-371. 

Biological,  366. 

Psychological,  366. 

Relations  of,  367-369. 
Source  material,  2. 
South,  The,  09,  100,  140,  261. 
South  Carolina  dispensary  system,  242. 
Southern  Sociological  Conference,  310. 
Standard  of  living,  207,  222,  231,  327, 

329- 
State,  The,  57,  272,  313-323. 

History  of,  315,  316. 

Theories  of,  315. 
State  schools,  58. 
Static  society,  2,  10,  139,  169. 
Sterilization,  250. 
Stimulus,    18,   56,   238,   283,  341,  344, 

345,  347,  351,  352. 
Stock  exchange,  202. 
Street  trades,  235. 
Strikes,  193,  194. 
Struggle  for  existence,  342,  343. 
Summer  visitors,  148,  149,  351. 
Sweating,  52. 
Syndicalism,  197. 

Telephone,  106. 
Temperance,  244. 

Anti-Saloon  League,  245. 

Education,  245. 

Good  Templars,  245. 

No  license,  245. 

Prohibition,  245,  246. 

Regulation,  246. 

Total  abstinence,  245. 

Woman's    Christian    Temperance 

Union,  245,  338. 
Tenant  farming,  101. 
Tenements,  69,  82,  84-86,  230-234,  239, 

263. 

Theatre,  82,  238,  240,  283. 
Theology,  369. 
Theories.    See  Social  theories. 


Town  meetings,  140-142,  163,  284-286. 
Toynbee  Hall,  278. 
Tradition,  349,  350. 
Transportation,  204-208,  336,  337. 
Trusts,  209,  210. 

Unemployment,  199,  269. 
United  Mine  Workers,  193. 
United  States,  302-304,  335. 
United  States  Census,  67. 
United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, 306. 

United  States  Patent  Office,  306. 
Universities,  131,  132,  308,  309,  354. 
University  of  Wisconsin,  131,  132. 
University  Settlement,  278. 
Unorganized  groups,  16-23. 
Utopians,  365. 

Venereal  disease,  44,  85. 
Vice  commissions,  83-85. 
Vice  reform,  85,  86. 
Village,  The,  115,  301. 

Improvement  Society,  148,  145. 

Nurse,  147,  148. 
Vocational  training,  35,  296. 
Volunteer  Prison  League,  254. 

Wages,  84,  86,  89,  203,  204,  207,  222, 

228. 

War,  oo,  194,  249,  334. 
\Vest,  The,  99,  102,  223,  224,  261. 
White-slave  traffic,  83,  86,  244.     See 

Prostitution. 
Will  of  the  individual,  264,  344,  355, 

362. 

Will  of  the  people,  138,  320. 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 

245,  338. 

Woman's  clubs,  134. 
Woman's  work,  61,  62,  84,  100,  191. 
Working   people,  The,    183,    184,    212, 

230-234,  238,  263-270. 
Worship,  288,  289. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
153,  163,  173,  241,  293,  298,  338. 

Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 
293,  298. 


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